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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | 



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UNITED STATES OF AR1ER8CA. 






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BRIEF BIOGKAPIIIES 



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Some Members of the Society of Friends, 



SHOWING THEIR EARLY RELIGIOUS EXERCISES, AND 
EXPERIENCE IN THE WORK OF REGENERATION. 



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COMPILED BY JOSEPH WALTON. 

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" Be followers of them who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. 

Heb. vi. 12. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

FOE SALE AT FRIENDS' BOOK STORE, 

No. 304 ARCH STREET. 



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X 



PEEFACE 



Jn preparing this compilation, the writer has especially 
had in view those persons, whose minds have been awak- 
ened to a sense of their sinful condition, and in whom liv- 
ing desires have been raised for admission into the King- 
dom of Heaven. In reading the accounts which follow, 
these may see, that others, who have gone before them, by 
turning in all sincerity to that Grace which convinced 
them of their sin, and by closely following its guidance; 
were enabled to repent of and forsake their sins ; and to 
obtain true faith in Christ, and a sense of union and ac- 
ceptance with Him. 

As such visited ones patiently endure the judgments of 
the Lord, they will find them to produce the peaceable 
fruits of righteousness ; and thus the work of redemption 
and purification will go forward in them. 

Though the narratives which follow all relate to mem- 
bers of the Society of Friends, yet it is not intended 
thereby to convey the impression that persons of other 
religious persuasions do not partake in the same blessed 
experiences. The writer fully believes, that the work of 
religion is substantially the same in the hearts of all who 
submit to it ; and he unhesitatingly accepts the declaration 
of the Apostle Peter, "In every nation, he that feareth 

[God] and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." 

iii 



CONTENTS 



PAGB 

\ Thomas Story, 5 

} John Eichardson, -20 

Christopher Story, 28 

I Gilbert Latey, . . . . . . . 34 

* Jane Hoskins, 38 

' John Banks, 44 

William Edmundson, 52 

• Joseph Pike, 65 

X Samuel Bownas, 73 

I Samuel Fothergill,- 79 

John Churchman, 86 

William Savery, 91 

Mary Dudley, 96 

Daniel Wheeler, 105 

Sarah Grubb, 120 

Mary Capper, 133 

Stephen Crisp, . . . . . . . 144 

Concluding Remarks, 157 



IV 



BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES. 



THOMAS STORY. 

Thie Holy Scriptures contain many directions pointing 
out the way to salvation. Our blessed Saviour thus lays 
down the terms of fellowship with Him : " If any man 
will be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross 
daily and follow me." To Nicodemus, He said, " Verily, 
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God ; " and He further explained 
His meaning, by adding, " That which is born of the flesh 
is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 
Paul and Silas exhorted the Philippian jailer to believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he should be saved; and 
the apostle John testifies of Christ, that He '' was the 
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world." " As many as received Him, to them gave 
He power to become the sons of God, even to them that 
believe on His name,, which were born, not of blood, nor 
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God,'^ And in another place he uses this remarkable lan- 
guage, " If we walk in the Light, as He [God] is in the 
Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood 
of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanse th us from all sin." . 

From these and other passages it appears, that that 

knowledge of God and of Christ, which is said in the 

Scriptures to be "eternal life," and that faith to which 

salvation is promised, are to be attained, by experiencing 

1* 5 



6 THOMAS STORY. 

a spiritual birth, through the operation of the Spirit of 
God ; by bearing the daily cross and steadfastly walking 
in obedience to the Light or Spirit of Christ manifested 
in the heart ; by which we come to be cleansed from our 
sins and brought into fellowship with our Creator. This 
process is inseparably connected with a measure of living 
faith, for, as the apostle declares, *^ He that cometh to 
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder 
of them that diligently seek Him ; " and our Saviour 
himself says, " He that believeth not the Son shall not 
see life." 

Those who are sincerely seeking the way to Zion, may 
find encouragement and instruction in considering the 
experience of those who have trodden the path to heaven 
before them ; whose upright lives and happy deaths show 
the blessed effects of faithfully obeying the Divine will. 
Among these ^^ companions of Christ," whose footsteps 
are as waymarks to succeeding generations, is Thomas 
Story, who was an intimate friend of William Penn, and 
a valuable minister in the Society of Friends. The fol- 
lowing narrative is condensed from his own account. 

"I was not naturally addicted to much vice or evil; 
and yet through the conversation of rude boys at school, 
I had acquired some things by imitation, tending that 
way ; but as I came to put them in practice by word or 
action, I found something in myself at such times, sud- 
denly surprising me with a sense of the evil, and making 
me ashamed when alone ; though what I had said or done 
was not evil in the common account of such as I con- 
versed with, or among men, in a common acceptation. 
And though I did not know or consider, what this Re- 
prover was, yet it had so much influence and power with 
me, that I was much reformed thereby from those habits, 
which, in time, might have been foundations for greater 
evils; or as stocks whereon to have engrafted a worse 



THOMAS STORY. 7 

nature, to the bringing forth of a more plentiful crop of 
grosser vices. 

"Nevertheless, as I grew up to maturity, I had many 
Sowings and ebbings in my mind ; the common tempta- 
tions among youth being often and strongly presented. 
And though I was preserved from guilt as in the sight of 
men, yet not so before the Lord, who seeth in secret, and 
at all times behold eth all the thoughts, desires, words, and 
actions of the children of men, in every age and through- 
out the world. 

" The lust of the flesh, of the eye, and the pride of life, 
had their objects and subjects presented. The airs of 
youth v;ere many and potent ; strength, activity, and 
comeliness of person w^ere not awanting, and had their 
share ; nor were natural endowments of mind, or compe- 
tent acquirements afar off; and the glory, advancements, 
and preferments of the world spread as nets in my view, 
and the friendship thereof beginning to address me with 
flattering courtship. 

" But in process of time, as these prevalent and potent 
motions of corruption and sin became stronger and strong- 
er in me, so the Lord, in great goodness and mercy, made 
manifest to my understanding the nature and end of them; 
and having a view of them in the true light, and the 
danger attending them, they became irksome, disagreeable, 
and exceeding heavy and oppressing to my mind. And 
then the necessity of that great work of regeneration was 
deeply impressed upon me ; but I had no experience or 
evidence of it wrought in me hitherto. This apprehen- 
sion greatly surprised me with fear, considering the great 
uncertainty of the continuance of the natural life ; and 
it began to put a secret stain upon the w^orld and all its 
glory, and all that I had to glory in; though I kept these 
thoughts within my own breast, not knowing of any soul 
to whom I could seriously and safely divulge them. And 



8 THOMAS STORY. 

indeed none, for a considerable time, discerned my inward 
concern by any outward appearance ; which, I found after- 
wards, had been much to my advantage and safety. 

"It is admirable by what various steps the Lord is 
pleased to lead the soul of man out of this world and the 
spirit of it, home to himself; and yet I am apt to think 
that, in His divine and unlimited wisdom, He does not take 
the same outward method and steps with every one, but 
varies the work of His providence, as their states and cir- 
cumstances may best suit and bear. For, by an accident 
that befel me, I was further alarmed to consider my 
ways, the uncertainty of life, my present state and latter 
end. 

" It was this : Intending to go to a country church with 
an acquaintance, as we were riding gently along, my horse 
stumbling, fell and broke his neck, and lay so heavy upon 
my leg, that I could scarce draw it from under him ; yet 
I received no hurt. But as we stood by him a little, I 
had this consideration, that my own life might have been 
ended by that occasion, and I did not find myself in a 
condition fit for Heaven, having yet no evidence of that 
necessary qualification of regeneration ; which brought 
great heaviness on my mind; which did not totally depart 
till, through the infinite mercy of God, I was favored with 
further knowledge and a better state. 

" Hitherto I had known the grace of God in me only 
as a manifester of evil and of sin, a word of reproof, and 
a law condemning and judging those thoughts, desires, 
words, passions, affections, acts and omissions, which are 
seated in the first nature, and rooted in the carnal mind ; 
in which the suggestions, temptations, and influences of 
the Evil One work and prevail ; by which Divine Grace 
I was in some good degree enlightened, reformed, and en- 
abled thereby to shun and forbear all words and acts thus 
known to be evil, and moral righteousness restored in my 



I 



i 



I 



THOMAS STORY. 9 

mind, and thereby brought forth in me. I became then 
sequestered, weaned, and alienated from all my former 
acquaintance and company ; their manners and conversa- 
tion, though not vicious (for such I never liked), became 
burdensome, tedious, and disagreeable ; for they had not the 
knowledge of God, nor such a conversation as I wanted. 
And yet I did not know the Divine Grace in its own 
nature, as it is in Christ ; not as a word of faith, sanctifi- 
cation, justification, consolation, and redemption ; being 
yet alive in my own nature ; the Son of God not yet re- 
vealed in me ; nor I, by the power of His holy cross yet 
mortified and slain; being without the knowledge of the 
essential Truth, and in a state contrary to Him, and un- 
reconciled. But the Lord did not leave me there, but in 
His matchless mercy, followed me still by His holy ad- 
monitions, and more and more inclined my mind in an 
earnest inquiry after himself, and His own essential truth 
and word. . . . 

" My mind being truly earnest with God, thirsting unto 
death for the knowledge of the way of life, He was pleased 
to hear the voice of my necessity ; for I wanted present 
salvation, and the Lord knew my case could not admit 
of further delay. And therefore, being moved by His 
own free mercy and goodness, even in the same love in 
which He sent his Son, the Beloved, into the world to 
seek and save the lost, on the first day of the Second 
month in the evening, in the year (according to the com- 
mon account) 1689, being alone in my chamber, the Lord 
brake in upon me unexpectedly ; quick as lightning from 
the heavens, and as a righteous, all-powerful, all-knowing, 
and sin-condemning Judge; before whom, my soul, as in 
the deepest agony, trembled, was confounded and amazed, 
and filled with such awful dread as no Avords can reach 
or declare. 

" My mind seemed separated from my body, plunged 



10 THOMAS STORY. 

into utter darkness, and being in perfect despair of return- 
ing any more, eternal condemnation appeared to surround 
and inclose me on every side, as in the centre of the hor- 
rible pit ; never, never to see redemption thence, or the 
face of Him in mercy, whom I had sought with all my soul. 
But in the midst of this confusion and amazement, where 
no thought could be formed, or any idea retained, save 
eternal death possessing my whole man, a voice was formed 
and uttered in me, as from the centre of boundless dark- 
ness, ' Thy will, O God, be done ; if this be thy act alone, 
and not my own, I yield my soul to thee.' 

" In the conceiving of these words, from the Word of 
life, I quickly found relief: there was all-healing virtue in 
them ; and the effect so swift and powerful, that, even in 
a moment, all my fears vanished, as if they had never 
been, and my mind became calm and still, and simple as 
a little child ; the day of the Lord dawned, and the Son 
of Righteousness arose in me, with divine healing, and 
restoring virtue in His countenance ; and He became the 
centre of my mind. 

" The divine, essential truth w^as now self-evident ; there 
wanted nothing else to prove it. I needed not to reason 
about Him ; all that w^as superseded and immerged by 
an intuition of that divine and truly wonderful evidence 
and Light, which proceeded from himself alone, leaving 
no place for doubt, or any question at all. For as the 
sun in the open firmament of heaven, is not discovered or 
seen but by the direct efflux and medium of his own light, 
and the mind of man determines thereby at sight, and 
without any train of reasoning, what he is ; even so, and 
more than so, by the overshadowing influence and divine 
virtue of the Highest, was my soul assured that it was 
the Lord. 

" From henceforth I desired to know nothing but the 
Lord, and to feed on that Bread of life, which He himself 



THOMAS STORY. 11 

alone can give, and did not fail to minister daily, and oftener 
than the morning. And yet, of His own free-will and 
goodness. He was pleased to open my understanding, by 
degrees, into all the needful mysteries of His kingdom, 
and the truths of His gospel ; in the process whereof He 
exercised my mind in dreams, in visions, in revelations, 
in prophecies, in Divine openings and demonstrations. 

" Also, by His eternal and divine Light, Grace, Spirit, 
Power, and Wisdom ; by His Word, He taught, instructed, 
and informed my mind ; and by temptations also and 
provings, which He suffered Satan to minister; that I 
might see my own weakness and danger, and prove to the 
utmost, the force and efficacy of that divine love and 
truth, by which the Lord, in His boundless goodness and 
mercy, had thus visited my soul. . . . 

" As the nature and virtue of the divine essential Truth 
increased in my mind, it wrought in me daily a greater 
conformity to itself, by its own power ; reducing my mind 
to a solid quietude and silence, as a state more fit for 
attending to the speech of the Divine Word, and distin- 
guishing it from all other powers, and its divine influ- 
ences from all imaginations and other motions. And 
being daily fed with the fruit of the tree of life, I desired 
no other knowledge than that which was given in conse- 
quence of the strength of mind and understanding thence 
arising." 

More than two years elapsed after passing through the 
experiences before mentioned, before Thomas Story joined 
the Society of Friends. He thus describes the manner in 
which he was led to take this step. 

" In w^riting the last paragraph of a piece which I in- 
scribed to the Saints in Zion, etc., the people called 
Quakers w^ere suddenly, and with some surprise, brought 
to my mind; and so strongly impressed on my remem- 
brance, that thenceforward I had a secret inclination to 



12 THOMAS STORY. 

inquire further concerning them, their way and prin- 
ciples." 

Being in the west part of Cumberland in the year 
1691, he heard of a meeting of " Friends " to be held at 
Broughton. This he attended. He says : 

" When we came to the meeting, being a little late, it was 
full gathered ; and I went among the throng of the peo- 
ple on the forms, and sat still among them in that inward 
condition and mental retirement. And though one of 
their ministers, a stranger, began to speak to some points 
held by them, and declaim against some things held by 
others and denied by them, particularly predestination, as 
asserted by the Presbyterians ; yet I took not much notice 
of it ; for as I did not doubt but, like all other sects, they 
might have something to say, both for their own, and 
against the opinions of others ; yet my concern was much 
rather to know whether they were a people gathered 
under a sense of the enjoyment of the presence of God in 
their meetings ; or in other words, whether they worshipped 
the true and living God, in the life and nature of Christ, 
the Son of God, the true and only Saviour : and the Lord 
answered my desire according to the integrity of my heart. 

" For not long after I had sat down among them, that 
heavenly and watery cloud overshadowing my mind, brake 
into a sweet abounding shower of celestial rain, and the 
greatest part of the meeting was broken together, dissolved 
and comforted in the same divine and holy presence and 
influence of the true, holy and heavenly Lord ; which was 
divers times repeated before the meeting ended. And in 
the same way, by the same divine and holy Power, I had 
been often favored with before, when alone ; and when no 
eye, but that of Heaven, beheld, or any knew, but the 
Lord himself; who, in infinite mercy, had been pleased 
to bestow so great a favor. 

" Our joy was mutual and full, though in the efflux of 



THOMAS STORY. 13 

many tears, as in cases of the deepest and most unfeigned 
love ; for the Friends there, being generally sensible, I 
was affected and tendered with them, by the influence of 
the divine Truth they knew and made profession of, did 
conclude, I had been at that time, and not before, con- 
vinced, and come to the knowledge or sense of the way 
of Truth among them ; and their joy was as of Heaven, 
at the return of a penitent; and mine as the joy of salva- 
tion from God, in view of the work of the Lord, so far 
carried on in the earth ; when I had thought, not long 
before, there had scarce been any true and living faith, or 
knowledge of God, in the world. 

*' The meeting being ended, the peace of God, which 
passeth all the understanding of natural men, and is in- 
expressible by any language but itself alone, remained as 
a holy canopy, over my mind. But being invited, to- 
gether w^ith the ministering Friend, to the house of the 
ancient widow Hall, I went willingly with them : but the 
sweet silence commanded in me still remaining, I had 
nothing to say to any of them, till He was pleased to 
draw the curtain and veil His presence ; and then I 
found my mind pure, and in a well-bounded liberty of 
innocent conversation with them. 

" And, being now satisfied, beyond my expectation, con- 
cerning the people of God, in whom the Lord had begun, 
and, in a good measure, carried on, a great work and 
reformation in the earth, I determined in my mind, that 
day, to lay aside every business and thing which might 
hinder or veil in me the CDJoyment of the presence of the 
Lord, whether among His people or alone ; or obstruct 
any service whereunto I was or might be called by Him ; 
especially things of an entangling or confining nature ; 
not regarding what the world might say, or what name 
they might impose upon me/' ... 

"After this I was at some other meetings; but little 
2 



14 THOMAS STORY. 

notice was taken of it by any of my relations or acquaint- 
ance, till the time of the assizes at Carlisle, where some 
Friends beiug prisoners in the county jail, for non-pay- 
ment of tithes, others attended the assizes, as their custom 
was, the better to obviate the occasion of troubles or hurt 
to any of the Society, and to minister counsel or other 
help, as need might be ; and these went to a meeting at 
Scotby, about two miles from the city ; and thither I went 
also. 

" During the time of the meeting, I found an unusual 
load on my spirit, and hardness in my heart ; insomuch 
that I could hardly breathe under the oppression ; nor 
could I say I had any sense of the comforts of the Divine 
presence there, but that the heavens were as thick brass, 
and the bars thereof as strong iron. But though I had 
no enjoyment in myself, yet I was sensible the presence 
and goodness of the Lord were there, and many therein 
greatly comforted ; and therefore did conclude my con- 
dition of mind was from some other cause, and not relat- 
ing to the state of the meeting in general. After the meet- 
ing was over, one of them asked me how I did ; I an^ 
swered, indifferently. Then he and some others perceived 
my spirit was oppressed, and sympathized with me therein. 
I could not, all this time, perceive the particular matter 
which thus affected me — for I knew not of anything I 
had done or said to bring it upon myself — till that even- 
ing, being returned to my father's house, very solitary, 
silent and inward, there came in one Thomas Tod, an 
acquaintance of mine ; who after some compliments of 
civility — for at that time I had not quite declined the 
common modes of salutation — desired to speak with me 
apart ; and then told me he had a trial to come on next 
day, concerning certain houses of his in the town of 
Penrith, being the greatest part of all he had in the 
world ; that one of the witnesses to his deeds of convey- 



THOMAS STORY. 15 

ance was dead ; another of them gone into Ireland, and 
could not be had ; but I, being the third, and having 
made the writings^ he hoped through my evidence and 
credit, to gain his just point against his unfair adversary; 
and desired me to be in readiness in the morning ; for the 
trial was likely to come on very early. 

"As soon as he began this relation, the word of life 
began to work in me in a very powerful manner ; and the 
hammer of the Lord I sensibly felt, and saw to be lifted 
up upon that hardness of heart, which for some time had 
been my state ; and it began to be broken, softened, and 
dissolved ; and the sense of the love of God in some de- 
gree to be renewed. Then I saw plainly that this was 
the hard thing I had to go through, and that now was the 
time of trial, wherein I must take up the cross of Christ, 
acknowledge His doctrine in that point fully and openly, 
according to the understanding given me ; and to despise 
the shame and reproach and other sufferings, which I well 
knew would ensue quickly; or I must forsake the Lord 
forever. For, denying His doctrine, in the sense I had 
now plainly seen it, would be denying himself before 
men ; and if I had then denied Him, I could expect no 
less, but according to His word, to be immediately and 
forever denied of Him, and left under that hardness of 
heart, and want of the enjoyment of His Divine presence, 
wherewith I had been favored before, and all the dreadful 
consequences of a beginning so woeful. 

" But according to the advances of the word and work 
of the Lord in me at that time, my heart inclined to 
Him, as my acquaintance was speaking ; and by the time 
he had done, I was furnished with a full resolution to 
give him a plain and direct answer ; which was on this 
manner : * I am concerned it should fall out so ; ' — for I 
had a real respect for him, and saw his case to be very 
hard — ' I will appear if it please God, and testify what I 



16 THOMAS STORY. 

know in the matter, and do what I can for you that way 
but I cannot swear/ 

" This was so great a surprise to him, both from the 
nature of his case and confidence he had in my ready 
compliance, he having had no suspicion of my present 
condition till that moment, that he broke into a passion, 
and with an oath, or curse, said, * What ! you are not a 
Quaker, sure ! ' 

" Though I had made a confession to the Truth so far, 
in that point, and the Divine presence sensibly returned 
in me, yet, upon this I was again silent, till clear in my 
understanding what to answer in sincerity and truth. For 
as nobody before that time had called me a Quaker, so I 
had not assumed the appellation ; which, being given in 
reproach, was not grateful ; though the thing in its pro- 
per sense, most delightful. Nor did I then see whether I 
had so much unity with all their tenets as might justify 
me in owning the name — for in the unity of Divine love 
and life only I had known them — till the power of that 
life of Him who forbiddeth all oaths and swearing, aris- 
ing yet clearer and fuller in me, opened my understand- 
ing, cleared my way, and enabled me thereto ; and then I 
said, ' I must confess the truth, I am a Quaker.' 

"As this confession brought me still nearer to the Son 
of God, His love increasing yet more sensibly in me, so 
likewise it heightened the perjDlexity and disturbance of 
my friend, whose case thereby became more desperate, in 
his own opinion. Upon which, in an increase of heat, and 
expressions therefrom suiting so obvious a disappointment, 
as it then appeared to him, he threatened to have me fined 
by the Court, and proceeded against with the utmost rigor 
of the law ; saying, * What ! must I lose my estate by 
your groundless notions and whims ? ' 

" But the higher my enemy arose and raged in this 
well-meaning, but mistaken man, who thus, without de- 



THOMAS STORY. 17 

sign, became the instrument of my trial, the fuller and 
more powerful still was the love of God ; whose cause I 
had now espoused through His own aid, and the power of 
an endless life from Him made manifest in me. I replied, 
in that calm of mind and resignation to the will of God, 
that the life of the Son of God enableth to and teacheth, 
* You may do what you think proper that way, but I can- 
not comply with your request in this matter, whatever be 
the issue of it.' And then he departed under great dis- 
satisfaction, with all the threats and reproaches his en- 
raged passions could suggest^ under a view of so great 
loss. 

" Immediately I retired into my chamber ; for perceiv- 
ing my grand enemy to be yet at work to introduce a 
slavish fear, and by that means subject my mind and 
bring me again into captivity and bondage, I was willing 
to be alone and free from all the interruptions of com- 
pany, that I might more fully experience the arm of the 
Lord and His divine instructions and counsel in this great 
exercise. 

" The enemy being a crafty and subtle spirit, wrought 
upon my passions, not fully subjected, and artfully ap- 
plied to my natural reason, my understanding not being 
fully illuminated, as his most suitable instrument. He 
urged the fine and imprisonment, and the hardships accom- 
panying that condition, and how little help I could expect 
from my father or friends, who would be highly displeased 
with me, for so foolish and unaccountable a resolution^ as 
they would think it; and also, the scoffings, mockings, 
derision, scorn, contempt^ loss of friends and friendships 
in the world, with such other inconveniences, hardships, 
and ill consequences, as the enemy could invent and 
suggest. 

"During all this time, from about eight iu the evening 
till midnight, the eye of my mind was fixed on the love 
2^ B 



18 THOMAS STOEY. 

of God, which still remained sensibly in rae, and my soul 
cleaved thereto in great simplicity, humility, and trust 
therein, without any yielding to Satan and his reasonings 
on those subjects, where flesh and blood in its own strength 
is easily overcome by him. But about twelve at night, 
the Lord put him to utter silence, with all his tempta- 
tions for that season, and the life of the Son of God alone 
remained in my soul ; and then, from a sense of His won- 
derful work and redeeming arm, this saying of the apostle 
arose in me with power, ' The law of the Spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and 
death.' 

" Then the teachings of the Lord were plentiful and 
glorious ; my understanding was further cleared, and His 
holy law of love and life settled in me, and I admitted 
into sweet rest with the Lord my Saviour, and given up 
in perfect resignation to His holy will, in whatsoever 
might relate to this great trial of my faith and obedience 
to the Lord. In the morning I went up towards the hall 
where the judges sat, expecting to be called as a witness 
in the case before mentioned ; but before I reached the 
place, I saw my said acquaintance approaching me, with 
an air in his countenance denoting friendship and affec- 
tion ; and when met, he said, * I can tell you good news ; 
my adversary has yielded the cause ; we are agreed to my 
satisfaction.' 

" Upon this I stood still in the street, and reviewing in 
my mind the work of the Lord in me the night before, as 
already related, this scripture came fresh into my remem- 
brance, in the life of it,' ^ It is God who worketh tn you, 
both to will and to do of His good pleasure.' I was 
sensible it was the Lord's doing, and accounted it a great 
mercy and deliverance." 

While still a young man, Thomas Story received a gift 
in the ministry of the Gospel, in which he labored abun- 



THOMAS STORY. 19 

dantly for many years in various parts of his native country 
(Great Britain), and in the continent of America. His 
useful life was ended in 1742, by an attack of paralysis, 
and " he departed this life,'' say his biographers, " in per- 
fect peace, we have great reason to believe, with God and 
mankind." 

His experience, as shown in the preceding extracts, was, 
in some respects, of an unusual character ; particularly, 
in the remarkable exercise he passed through, when he 
was brought to cast himself wholly on the Lord, and 
favored to feel the sense of Divine favor and forgiveness 
which followed his heartfelt submission. For true it is, 
as he observes, that the Lord varies the work of His provi- 
dence according to the states and conditions of those to 
whom His visitations are extended. Yet it is instructive to 
observe how Thomas Story was enlightened by Divine Grace 
to see the need of turning from sin, and of passing through 
the indispensable w^ork of regeneration ; and how he at- 
tributes the awakening of the desire in his mind, and the 
carrying on of the work, to the Word of Life or Spirit of 
Christ, without which we can do nothing to promote our 
salvation. In these points, which lie at the foundation of 
all practical religion, his experience was substantially the 
same as that of all true Christians, as will be exemplified 
in the succeeding narratives of this collection. It is in 
full accordance with the views ever held by the Society of 
Friends, as evinced by the noble testimony borne by 
Robert Barclay: "Whatsoever is excellent, whatsoever 
is noble, whatsoever is worthy, whatsoever is desirable in 
the Christian faith, is ascribed to this Spirit, without which 
it could no more subsist than the outward world without 
the sun. Hereunto have all true Christians, in all ages, 
attributed their strength and life. It is by this Spirit 
that they avouch themselves to have been converted to 
God, to have been redeemed from the world, to have been 



20 JOHN RICHARDSON. 

strengthened in their weakness, comforted in their afflic- 
tions, confirmed in their temptations, emboldened in their 
sufferings, and triumphed in the midst of all their perse- 
cutions.'' 



JOHN RICHARDSOK 

The description which John Richardson gives of his 
growth in religion, presents a lively picture of the work- 
ings of that Grace which brings salvation, by purifying 
the heart and making it a fit temple for the indwelling of 
the Holy Spirit. Like Thomas Story, he was called into 
the work of the ministry, and was a zealous and efficient 
laborer in the Gospel. His Journal contains many re- 
markable incidents, which illustrate the overruling care 
of Divine Providence, and his own watchful attention to 
the leadings of the Spirit of Christ. He died in the year 
1753, in the eighty-seventh year of his age ; and the testi- 
mony to his character left on record by the Friends of 
York Quarterly Meeting, England, shows, that he main- 
tained to the last that liveliness of Spirit which is an evi- 
dence of continuing to be a branch of the true Vine. 
They say, " To divers of us who visited him towards the 
close of his time, he appeared in a heavenly frame of 
mind, to our great comfort, evidencing a preparation for 
that eternal bliss whereunto, we doubt not, he is entered, 
and now reaps the fruits of his labors." 

He says : — '* I was not above thirteen years of age when 
my father died, yet the Lord was at work by His Light, 
Grace, and Holy Spirit in my heart ; but I knew not then 
what it was which inwardly disquieted my mind, when 
anything which was evil prevailed over the good in me, 
which it oftentimes did, for want of taking heed to the 



JOHN RICHARDSON. 21 

Spirit of God in my heart. I desired ease and peace some" 
other way, without taking up the cross of Christ to my 
own corrupt will ; and strove for some time, as no doubt 
many do, to make merry over the just witness, until for a 
season the converting and true witness of God seemed to 
be slain, or disappeared. Then I took liberty, but not in 
gross evils which many ran into, being preserved reli- 
giously inclined, seeking after professors, and inquiring of 
them for my information and satisfaction, to find, if I 
could, anything that was safe to rest in, or any true and 
solid comfort to my poor, disconsolate and bewildered 
soul. . . . 

"After much searching without, amongst those who 
proved to me physicians of no value, and miserable com- 
forters, I betook myself to a lonesome and retired life, 
breathing after and seeking the Lord in the fields and 
private places, beseeching Him that He would bring me 
to the saving knowledge of His truth ; and blessed be the 
name of the Lord, now and forever, I had not sought Him 
long with all my heart, before I met with His inward 
appearance to me, in and by His Holy Spirit, Light, and 
Grace. But when the true Light did begin to shine more 
clearly, and the living witness arose in my inward naan^ 
oh ! then my undone, bewildered, and miserable condition 
began to appear, and great and unutterable were my con- 
flicts and distress. I thought no man's condition on the 
face of the earth was like mine. I thought I was not fit 
to die, neither did I know how to live. I thought in the 
evening, * oh, that it was morning ! ' and in the morning^ 
' that it was evening ! ' I had many solitary walks in the 
fields, and other places, in which I poured out my com- 
plaints and cries before the Lord, with fervent supplica- 
tions to Him, that He would look upon my affliction, and 
the strong temptations I was under, and that He would 
rebuke the adversary of my soul, and deliver it, for I even 



22 JOHN KICHARDSON. 

"thought it was in the jaws of a devouring lion, and 
amongst the fiery spirits, and as it were, under the weight 
of the mountains. Read and understand the afflictions of 
thy brother, thou that hast come through great tribula- 
tions, and hast washed and made thy garments white in 
the blood of the Lamb. This is the beginning of that 
baptism which doth save, and of that washing of regener- 
ation and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which the Lord 
sheds upon the believers in abundance. This is the blood 
which sprinkleth the heart from an evil conscience, that 
the children of men, thus changed, may serve the living 
and true God ; this is the life which converts the world, 
even as many as are converted ; this is the virtue, life, and 
blood, which maketh clean the saints' garments, and in- 
wardly washeth them from all filthiness, both of flesh and 
spirit. ... 

" I now came to witness that scripture to be fulfilled 
which saith, that, * When the Lord's judgments are in the 
earth,' or earthly hearts of men, ' the inhabitants learn 
righteousness,' and notwithstanding there was an aversion 
in my wild nature to the people in scorn called Quakers, 
as also to the name itself, yet when the afflicting hand of 
the Lord was upon me for my disobedience, and when, 
like Ephraim and Judah, I saw in the light my hurt and 
my wound, I bemoaned myself, and mourned over the 
just principle of light and grace in me, which I had 
pierced with my sins and disobedience. Although that 
ministration of condemnation was glorious in its time, yet 
great were my troubles, which humbkd my mind, and 
made me willing to deny myself of every thing, which the 
Light made known in me to be evil, I being in great dis- 
tress, and wanting peace and assurance of the love of God 
to my soul ; the weight of which so humbled my mind, 
that I knew not of any calling, people, practice, or prin- 
ciple, that was lawful and right, which I could not em- 



JOHN RICHABDSON. 23 

brace, or fall in with. This was surely like the day of 
Jacob's troubles and David's fears. I saw that the filth 
of Zion was to be purged away by the Spirit of judgment 
and of burning ; this is the way of the deliverance and re- 
covery of poor men out of the fall, and the time of the 
restoration of the kingdom to God's true Israel. Read ye 
that can and understand. This was the day of my bap- 
tism into the love of God, and true faith in His beloved 
Son as also into a feeling of, or sympathy with. Him in 
His sufferings, which were unutterable ; and I found that 
ministration changed ; that which had been unto death, 
was now unto life ; and the ministration which was of 
condemnation unto the first birth, when that was slain, and 
in a good degree nailed or fastened to the cross of Christ, 
the power of God ; then the good prevailed over the evil, 
and working out the evil in the mind, and also in the 
members, made all good or holy. The Lord's living 
power and consuming word, when it works and prevails, 
brings into subjection, and maketh holy the very heart or 
ground in men. 

" As there had been an aversion in me to the people 
called in scorn Quakers, and also to their strict living 
and demeanor, plainness of habit and language, so I 
learned none of these from them ; for when the Lord 
changed my heart, He also changed my thoughts, words, 
and ways, and there became an aversion in me to vice, 
sin, and vanity, as there had been to the ways of virtue. 
Having tasted of the terrors and judgments of God be- 
cause of sin, I was warned to flee from such things as 
occasioned Christ's coming not to bring peace upon the 
earth, but a sword ; a sword indeed, yea, His heart-pene- 
trating, searching word, which is sharper than any two- 
edged sword, that pierceth to the dividing asunder between 
flesh and spirit, joints and marrow. As I came thus to see 
and abhor the evil in myself, when such who had been 



24 JOHN EICHARDSON. 

my companions in vanity reviled me, or came in my way, 
I was often moved to warn and reprove them. Having 
tasted of the terrors of the Lord for sin, I could not well 
forbear to warn others to flee such things as I had been 
judged for. Now I came clearly to be convinced about 
hat honor, bowing the knee, and the corrupt language, as 
well as finery in habits ; all which, for conscience' sake, 
and the peace thereof, I came to deny, and take up the 
cross to, and had great peace in so doing. 

" Notwithstanding the blessed truth thus prevailed in 
me, I was not without great conflicts of spirit, temptations, 
and trials of divers kinds ; yet my mind was resigned to 
the Lord, and my fervent prayers were to Him, and He 
kept me and opened my understanding, for I was afraid 
of being misled in anything, especially relating to my 
salvation. I came to be weaned from all companions 
and lovers in whom I had taken delight, and all things 
iji this world were little to me, my mind being much re- 
deemed out of the world, not only the corrupt and evil 
part thereof, but even from the lawful part ; so that I 
became much given up to seek the Lord, waiting upon 
Him to feel His presence and peace, and to know His will, 
and receive power to do the same. 

" As my mind came to be thus brought into a depend- 
ent and waiting frame upon the Lord, and to be stayed in 
the Light, and experimentally and feelingly to partake 
of His love and grace, which helped me against my in- 
firmities, blessed be His name, I found it sufficient for me, 
as I kept to it, in all trials and temptations. Then I came 
to see that all outward performances in matters of religion 
did not avail nor render man acceptable to God, but as 
the heart came to be truly given up to Him, that He might 
not only purge it from defilement, but keep li clean 
through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. As nearly as 



JOHN RICHARDSON. 25 

I remember, I saw clearly through these things before the 
sixteenth year of my age." 

The remark of John Richardson, when speaking of 
those exercises and judgments he was made to pass 
through by the Spirit of the Lord, that it was the time of 
his " baptism into the love of God, and true faith in His 
beloved Son/' is in accordance with the testimony of 
Scripture, that faith is given by the Spirit.* It is those 
only, who are submissive recipients, and co-workers with^ 
the Grace of God or Spirit of Christ, that can obtain true 
and living faith, and thus really come to Christ. George 
Fox, a few years before his death, wrote a short paper, 
" directing to the right way and means, whereby people 
might come unto Christ," in which he says : " Christ saith, 
' I am the way, the truth and the life ; no man cometh 
unto the Father but by me.' And again, ' No man can 
come to me except the Father which has sent me draw 
him.' Now, what is the means by which God doth draw 
people to His Son, but by His Holy Spirit, w^ho ' poureth 
out of His Spirit upon all flesh,' that is, all men and women. 
.... They that mind the drawings of the good Spirit of 
the Father to His Son, the Spirit doth give them under- 
standing to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal 
life." 

John Richardson thus continues his narrative. " Some 
little time before the [second] marriage of my mother, 
I was brought into the public work of the ministry, 
concerning which I had many reasonings, being young, 
scarcely eighteen years old, and naturally of a stam- 
mering tongue. But after my many conflicts, troubles, 
and temptations, the worst I ever met with, and the 
most piercing sorrow I had been in since I came to the 
knowledge of the blessed Truth, was, when through rea- 
sonings, disobedience, and an unwillingness to comply 

* 1 Cor. xii. 9. 
3 



26 ' JOHN BICHARDSON. 

with the Lord's requirings, He in displeasure took away 
from me the comfort of His holy presence for several 
months together. Oh ! the tribulations I met with in this 
condition. I could scarcely believe I should ever have 
repentance granted to me, or be restored to the love and 
favor of God, when I found that river of life dried up, as 
to me, which did before, not only make me, but even the 
whole city of God, truly glad. But as the Lord by His 
judgments had brought me in a good degree from the vice 
and vanity of this world ; now by His judgments He made 
me willing to give up to answer His requirings in part ; 
and in my obedience to Him, I began to feel some com- 
fort of love and fellowship of the Spirit of the Lord in 
myself, and in His people, who were partakers of the like 
fellowship.'' 

After his mother's marriage, John removed with her to 
the house of his step-father, who was a zealous Presbyte- 
rian, and much opposed to his going to the meetings of 
Friends. John says : — " On the First-day mornings my 
father commonly sent me into the fields a mile or two on 
foot, and as far upon a common to look at beasts, horses 
and sheep, I thought with a design to weary and make 
me incapable of going to meetings; all which I bore 
patiently, neither ever said, that I remember, this is hard 
usage : after this, to the great grief of my poor mother, 
I had to go two, three, four, five, and sometimes six miles, 
to Friends' meetings. After I had walked fast, and ran 
sometimes with my shoes under my arms for want of time, 
I have seen many Friends weep, and could not forbear, 
when they saw me come into the meeting very hot and in 
a great sweat, they being in part sensible of the hard task 
I had to undergo." 

" Now when he saw that neither frowns, threatenings, 
hardships, nor great promises of kindness could prevail 
with me [to decline the attendance of religious meetings], 



JOHN RICHARDSON. 27 

he told me bluntly and roughly, I should stay no longer 
in his house. I innocently answered, I could not help it, 
if it must be so, as all I could do would not give him con- 
tent, without hurting my conscience, and the peace of my 
mind, which I valued above all mutable things of this 
world. 

** Notwithstanding I pleaded with my father to let me 
stay till I could hear of a place, he would not, though I 
was scarcely fit for service, being almost like an anatomy, 
as the saying is, so that most who knew me, said, I w^ould 
pine away in a consumption ; but turn out I must, and did, 
though I was weak, poor, and low in body, mind, pocket, 
and"^lothes ; for I think I had but twelve pence in my 
pocket, and very ordinary clothes upon my back. Thus 
I took my solemn leave of the family with my heart full, 
but I kept inward to the Lord, and under Truth's govern- 
ment. I came out on the great common where I had had 
many solitary walks, but none like this, for this reason, 
that I knew not where to go. The sense of my weak con- 
dition, not knowing whither to go, nor where to lay my 
head, came over me to that degree, that it appeared to me 
as though my way was hedged up on every side, inwardly 
and outwardly. I looked round about me to see that none 
were near to see my tears, nor hear my cries, and in the 
very anguish and bitterness of my soul, I poured forth 
my complaints, cries, and tears, to the Judge of all the 
earth, who spoke to me and comforted me in this my de- 
plorable state. The Lord said unto me as if a man had 
spoke, ^ Seek first the kingdom of heaven and the right- 
eousness thereof, and all these things that thou standest in 
need of shall be given unto thee.' I then desired He 
would be pleased to show me the place I should go to ; 
and the Lord opened my way, and showed me the house 
I should go to, and abide in for a time. I said, Good is 
the word of the Lord: I believed, and it was a great 



28 CHEISTOPHER STORT. 

means to stay my mind, and settle it in the Truth, with 
full purpose of heart to follow the Lord and obey His 
requirings, according to the knowledge and ability given 
me. Soon after I came to the Friend's house in South- 
Cliff, viz., William Allen by name, I bound myself to 
him to learn his trade of a weaver, and after I was bound, 
I found this good man loved me, and I loved him to the 
day of his death; he often said, he was blessed" for my 
sake, and all that apDertained to him ; for he was very 
poor, but increased very considerably after I went to live 
with him." 

As the object of this little work is rather to point out 
the way in which those of whom it speaks became settled 
and established as living members of the Church of Christ, 
than to narrate the varied incidents of their subsequent 
lives, it is not needful to quote more from the very in- 
teresting journal which John Richardson has left behind 
him. 



CHRISTOPHER STORY. 

Of Christopher Story, whose residence was in Cumber- 
land, England, his widow says, that when the Lord was 
pleased to open his understanding, " he willingly bowed 
under the yoke of Christ, and took up his daily cross, and 
thereby became a disciple and follower of Him. The Lord 
having prepared him for His service, in His own time en- 
dued him with a gift of the ministry, and continuing in 
faithfulness both in doing and in suffering, which soon fell to 
his lot, he became very serviceable amongst his brethren.'* 
One of his fellow-laborers in the gospel, who looked up to 
him as a spiritual father, mentions that he visited him in 
his last illness, and adds, " I found him well in the Lord, 



CHRISTOPHER STORY. 29 

and had true unity with him ; and I am satisfied he is 
entered into everlasting rest." His death occurred in the 
year 1720. His own account is as follow^s : 

"Amongst the many thousands of the disobedient and 
rebellious, unto whom the Lord in His love and un- 
speakable kindness, extended mercy, in and through His 
dear Son, Christ Jesus, I w^as one whom the Lord called 
by His grace when I was young in years, and preserved 
me from many evils, to which I was prone as well as 
others, I scarcely knew it w^as the Lord, but felt there 
was something near me and with me from a child, that 
inclined my heart to seek after the Lord, and to read the 
holy Scriptures. As I grew up to years of understanding, 
I was sober and more moderate than some others, though 
the place of my abode was in the border of England, 
where wickedness of the grossest sort had swelled to that 
height, that theft, robbery, and bloodshed, with many 
other crying sins, were so frequent, that hell (in that 
sense) had opened her mouth ; the remembrance of which 
much affects my heart with sorrow. When I think of 
such as are gone, who were but an age before me and sev- 
eral others, that are largely made partakers of the mercy 
of God ; that the Lord in His free love should pluck us 
as brands out of the fire, and preserve us from those gross 
evils which generations before us were found in, I feel is 
an obligation never to be forgotten. 

"As the Lord was pleased to get himself a name in 
the earth, in calling us to be a people to His praise, who 
were as the outcasts of the nation. He began to work in 
the hearts of a young generation, when but tender in age, 
of which I was one ; and though we were short of having 
an eye unto the Lord in all our undertakings, yet He was 
not short in having an eye over us for good. I was brought 
up in a public house, my father and mother keej^ing an 
inn where people of many sorts resorted, yet the Lord 
3* 



30 CHEISTOPHER STOBY. 

preserved me beyond many from the sin of drunkenness, 
and the excessive smoking of tobacco I never loved. 

" Yet as I grew in years, I was drawn after the vain 
pastimes which are in the world ; as shooting with guns 
and bows, and following them that played at cards, and I 
was successful in playing, and my mind as much taken 
with that foolish practice as most things. For this the 
Lord gave me a sore rebuke in myself, that I was sensible 
of trouble of conscience for many days, and was consult- 
ing with myself what to do, not knowing of one man who 
judged the thing unlawful to be done. The old enemy 
appeared in my heart and brought a fair pretence with 
him, viz. : that I might safely play at any time except 
the First-days at night, being a practice amongst us ; and 
this gave me a little ease for a time ; and I observed it. 
Then a fear entered my mind that I durst not join with 
young people in their pastimes, and light began more to 
appear, and I saw we must be more religious than for- 
merly; but the enemy would suggest to me that I was 
young, and might live long, and it was time enough for 
me to be religious when I was married ; and here I rested 
for some years, though often under trouble, believing I 
must live more godly, or otherwise I could not enter God's 
kingdom. 

" When I was about eighteen years of age, my father 
and mother were desirous I should marry a young woman, 
whose parents were of good repute in the country ; and a 
weighty concern it was to me, and under the sense thereof 
I prayed to the Lord in the night season, ' that if it were 
for our good it might come to pass, and if not, it might not 
be so.' About this time my heart came to be more and 
more opened, and I saw the danger of poverty and riches, 
and at a certain time, I retired, and the saying of the wise 
man came into my remembrance, and I prayed to the 
Lord to give me neither poverty nor riches, for I saw 



CHRISTOPHER STORY. 31 

there was danger on both hands ; and though I desired to 
keep company with those that Avere most sober, yet I was 
often under great affliction of mind. 

" When I was at any time with the profane, if I par- 
took of their joy at night, sorrow came in the morning. 
While I remained here, a great fever being in the coun- 
try, and many dying, when it entered my house, and my 
wife was taken ill of it, I was persuaded to go to a woman 
who was blind, and pretended she could do great things. 
I inquired of her if I should take the distemper, she being 
one who undertook to tell what would come to pass : she 
told me, no, and I believed her, but when the Lord 
visited me with sickness, my disobedience on the one hand, 
and my believing her, which I looked upon as distrusting 
God, on the other, brought such horror and trouble of 
mind upon me, that I concluded if I should then die 
there were no hopes of mercy for me. My mother, being 
in great trouble for me, would have comforted me with 
this, that I exceeded others in my life and conversation, 
but I could not believe there was any favor at the Lord's 
hand for me, except He should restore me to my health, 
and I become a new man. I saw I was not to regard 
soothsayers, or such as pretend to tell things to come, 
they themselves being out of the life of righteousness. 
Under this great distress and anguish of soul, I cried 
mightily unto the Lord, that He would spare me yet 
awhile ; and that saying came into my mind, ' the prayer 
of the righteous availeth much ; ' and knowing not but 
the priest might be one of them whom the Lord would 
hear, I had a mind he should come. When he came, he 
wanted his book, and could not pray, so that I was dis- 
appointed ; but may say, though all other helps failed, 
yet the Lord never failed, for He was pleased to restore 
me, and when restored, inclined my heart to seek after 
Him. I thought it my duty often to pray to the Lord in 



32 CHRISTOPHER STORY. 

secret places, to show me His way, wherein I should walk, 
for I was satisfied I was out of the way ; because of the 
trouble of mind I was under. As prayer seemed to me 
to be a duty, I thought it my place to wait upon the Lord, 
to feel what would open on my mind to supplicate the Lord 
for, and not to pray in form ; but having little answer of 
' well done ' from the Lord, I grew weary, and became 
more and more formal in my prayers, and my distress in- 
creased. Then I began to doubt that I had not been so 
diligent as I should have been in my devotion in the time 
of our worship, though I frequently went ; so I resolved 
for the time to come, I would go to church with the first, 
and hear and observe every word the priest said. But 
I saw all that I could do signified little ; and I was not 
to sing, neither durst I open my mouth as others did, but 
sat solitarily. Then the Lord showed me the eflTects of 
the priests' ministry. They could tell what sin was, and 
what would be the reward of the righteous ; and what 
would be the reward of the wicked ; but how to come out 
of sin, which was the thing I wanted to know, they left 
me at a loss, and this lessened their esteem in my view." 

While in this inquiring state of mind, C. Story attended 
a meeting at which Robert Barclay was present, who, he 
says, " spoke the word of Truth excellently to the people, 
so that I could have said, amen, to several things ; and 
amongst the rest, he said^ * If a man could begin at Genesis, 
and repeat all the Scriptures to the end of Revelation, 
and was not led and guided by a measure of that Spirit by 
which the Scriptures were given forth, it would avail him 
nothing.' Then I saw all that I had availed nothing." 

" Being come home, and under great exercise what to 
do, I searched the Scriptures — read much, and wanted to 
be infoimed concerning many things that Friends held. 
In this time Friends appointed another meeting about a 
quarter of a mile from my abode, and I had many serious 



CHRISTOPHER STORY. 33 

thoughts what to do. At last I resolved I would go to 
the meeting, and get near the public Friends, and hear 
every word they said ; and if I liked them well, I would 
invite them to my house, on purpose to discourse with 
them privately about several things. . . . The meeting 
day came and many people flocked to the meeting, and I 
was diligent to hear the testimony of Truth. 

" Thomas Carleton, a man of sweet countenance (as I 
remember) spake concerning the Spirit of truth being 
come, that convinceth the world of sin, and that this, if 
taken heed unto, would lead out of all sin ; of which words 
I was heartily glad, for I said in myself, *I have felt that 
from a child which condemned me for sin ; and if this be 
sufficient to lead out of sin, it is what I have long wanted." 

The ministering Friends having gone home with C. 
Story, he and some of his neighbors Avrote out some 
queries on religious subjects to present to them. He says: 
" When the Friend perceived what we aimed at, Thomas 
Carleton being pretty quick and expert in answering ques- 
tions, called for a Bible, and did not so much argue with 
us, as endeavor to let us see what the Scripture said, put- 
ting us gently by, for we were much for arguing : we parted 
pretty well satisfied," 

By the advice of their friends, C. Story and others who 
were convinced in that neighborhood, agreed to meet to- 
gether for Divine worship, and though there was then no 
minister among them, he says, he felt his " inward man 
renewed in a sense of the Lord's nearness." 

" Some years after our convincement, being met in the 
house of Christopher Taylor to wait upon the Lord, His 
power and presence in a wonderful manner overshadowed 
us in our sitting together ; and there was much broken- 
ness and tenderness on the spirits of Friends, which spread 
over the whole meeting, except three or four persons who 
sat dry, and they proved not well. I being near the door 

C 



34 GILBERT LATEY. 

saw many in the room filled, before the power of the Lord 
reached me, yet the Lord, in His free love and mercy, 
was pleased to give me such a share among my brethren, 
that my heart is always glad when I remember that season 
of God's love, though now upwards of twenty years ago. 
And though we were at times plentifully fed with that 
bread which came down from heaven, and sat together at 
the Lord's table, where the wing of His power was known 
to overshadow us ; yet at other times the Lord tried us 
with want ; and at a certain time it entered my mind as 
a weighty consideration, why it should be thus, we being 
the same people, and sometimes, had very good and com- 
fortable meetings, and were sometimes very dry and bar- 
ren in our meeting together. As I was thus concerned in 
my mind, it opened to me that there should be seed-time 
and harvest, summer and winter, unto the end of the 
world. So I saw clearly there were times to abound, and 
times to suffer want ; and I desired to rest satisfied in the 
will of God. As we sojourned here, desiring nothing 
more than to follow the Lord fully. He not only led us 
out of the gross evils which are in the world, but out of 
the customs and fashions that are evil. So that we were 
singled out from the world in everything we saw to be 
needless and superfluous ; and the fame of truth spread, 
and our meetings were large, and the exercise of the faith- 
ful was to draw nearer and nearer to the Lord." 



GrLBERT LATEY. 



Gilbert Latey was a prominent Friend of London, 
in the early days of that religious Society. He was one 
whose heart was often deeply affected with sympathy for 
the sufferings of his innocent brethren in religious profes- 



GILBERT LATEY. 35 

sion who were plundered of their goods, exposed to per- 
sonal abuse, and made to endure long imprisonments in 
filthy jails, for their faithfulness in meeting to perform 
Divine worship, and in other ways upholding the pure 
Gospel principles of which they had been convinced by 
the Light of Christ. Being known to many persons of 
power and influence in the State ; and being greatly re- 
spected for his upright, amiable, and consistent character ; 
his earnest and persevering labors for the relief of those 
thus afflicted were often blessed with success. 

*' In all these engagements," says his biographer, "he kept 
to and bore the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which he 
was crucified to the world ; and his great self-denial was 
taken notice of and beloved ; insomuch that an eminent 
Friend and minister of Christ [William Penn?], in one of 
the former reigns, being then in another nation, having 
great interest among the men at Court and attending there 
often, meeting with a Friend one day, told him he had 
been at Court, and that of all the men among Friends, 
that he ever knew or heard of, he never followed a man 
that had a sweeter character than Gilbert Latey had at 
Court." 

It is recorded of Gilbert Latey, that he was of a sober 
life and conversation, and having breathings in his heart 
after the Lord, followed those who were of the best repute, 
and esteemed to be the most zealous pastors and preachers 
in that time, often hearing four sermons in a day, and 
being frequent in private prayer. The Lord beholding 
the integrity of his heart, prospered him in such a manner, 
that he grew into great reputation in the world ; having 
much business in his trade as a tailor, and being employed 
and respected by persons of the first rank in the kingdom. 
But, through all these outward enjoyments, his desires 
were still to find peace with the Lord ; and in this seek- 
ing condition he went to hear those who seemed the most 



36 GILBERT LATEY. 

refined, and from one of them to the other, seeking the 
living among the dead, yet among them all he could not 
find his soul's beloved. While thus breathing and seek- 
ing after the truth, it was made known to him about the 
year 1654, that some men who were come out of the North, 
were to have a meeting at the house of Sarah Matthew^s, 
a widow, who lived in White Cross Street [London]. He 
repaired thither, and having heard the truth declared by 
that eminent minister of our Lord Jesus Christ, Edward 
Burrough, was so reached by the power of the Lord, that 
he was convinced ; and being directed to the Light of 
Christ in himself, and not consulting with flesh and blood, 
he gave up to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, greatly re- 
joicing that he had found his soul's beloved, and resolv- 
ing, through the Lord's assistance, to take up his cross 
and despise the shame, accounting all things but as dross 
that he might win Christ. 

" Having enlisted himself under the banner of the Lord, 
made profession of His blessed Truth, and taken up the 
cross, despising the shame, bearing scorn and reproach, it 
pleased the Lord to bring a trial upon him, like the cut- 
ting off the right hand, or pulling out the right eye. For 
being still in great business in the world, and concerned 
with persons of considerable rank, who would have their 
apparel set off with much cost and superfluities of lace 
and ribbons, he came under a conscientious concern not 
to meddle therewith, nor suffer his servants to put it on ; 
which made some say he was mad. Upon his refusing to 
be concerned in this superfluous part, the great people left 
liim, and his trade decayed so, that having a great many 
servants, he was forced to part with them ; not knowing but 
he, who lately had such a great business and so many 
servants, might now himself be a servant to some of the 
trade, and work at day labor for his bread. This was a 
close trial; but he patiently waited the Lord's season; 



GILBERT LATEY. 37 

though despised even of his own mother's children, and as 
it were banished from his father's house ; yet he chose to 
leave all rather than to lose his peace with the Lord. And 
He, who never forsakes those who trust in Him, was his 
support, bore up his spirit through all his exercises, and 
enabled him to be resigned and contented in His will." 

As Gilbert Latey was thus concerned to manifest the 
sincerity of his determination, to ^^ Seek first the kingdom 
of heaven and the righteousness thereof,'' he experienced 
the fulfilment of the blessing attached thereto ; and his 
subsequent histor};- clearly shows that he possessed con- 
siderable jDroperty. In speaking of the fines to which 
Friends were subjected for meeting together for Divine 
worship, his biographer says : ^- " Being a man of [pecir- 
niary] ability, the justices and informers were willing, 
when they had opportunity, to fix what they were permit- 
ted to take, either by law or otherwise, upon him," by 
reason of which there were at one time warrants against 
him for several hundred pounds; but the Lord being 
good to him, even as to His servant of old, made the ene- 
mies ready to say, as their master did, * Doth he serve 
God for nought; hath He not set a hedge about him, and 
all that he hath ? For notwithstanding their contriv- 
ance and subtilty, the Lord preserved both him and 
what he had, that the destroyers' power was always in 
measure limited ; for which to the great God belongs the 
praise." 

He faithfully bore his testimony to the Lord and His 
cause, during the times of severe persecution, and shared 
with his brethren in imprisonment therefor. In his old 
age, he would often say to his wife, that he had done the 
work of his day faithfully, and was sat down in the will 
of God, and felt His peace to abound in him. He often 
mentioned that he waited the Lord's call and time of 
being removed, and that there was no cloud in his way, 
4 



38 JANE HOSKINS. 

for the Lord was good to him. This heaveDly frame of 
mind continued to the last ; and a few hours before his 
death he said to those about hira, that, " There was no con- 
demnation to them that were in Christ Jesus ; " for, said he, 
" He is the lifter up of my head, He is my strength and 
great salvation." 



JANE HOSKINS. 



Jane Hoskins was born in London, in the year 1694. 
She was brought up in a religious manner in connection 
with the Church of England. When about sixteen years 
of age, she was visited with a severe fit of sickness, which, 
she says, ** reduced me very low both in body and mind : 
for the terrors of the Almighty took hold of my soul, and 
then was brought into my remembrance all my sins and 
misspent time, as well as the good counsel my dear parents 
had tenderly given me, which I had unhappily disregarded. 
In this distressed condition I shed many tears, making my 
moan to Him, who is the helper of His people in the 
needful time ; and was ready to make covenant, that if 
He in mercy would be pleased to spare me a little longer, 
the remaining part of my days should be dedicated to His 
service ; and it was as though it had been spoken to me, 
'if I restore thee, go to Pennsylvania.' To which the 
answer of my soul was, * wherever thou pleasest.' This 
opening appeared strange to me at that time ; but all I 
wanted then, was peace of mind and health of body. 
However, it pleased the Lord to raise me up from this 
low condition, and I as soon forgot the promises I had 
made in deep distress, and returning again to my old 
amusements, endeavored thereby to stifle the witness of 
God, which had been raised in me. 



JANE HOSKINS. 39 

" But He, who in tender mercy strives long with the 
children of men, and would not that any should be lost, 
followed me in judgment, and often when alone brought 
me under great condemnation, so that I was made to cry 
for strength to overcome the evils which so easily beset 
me. Then Pennsylvania came again into my mind ; but 
as I was much delighted with outward objects, and strongly 
attached to such things as were pleasing to my natural 
temper, so the cross of Christ was thereby made great in 
appearance to me, and I would reason thus ; * What shall 
I do in a strange country, separated from the enjoyment 
of all my relations and friends ? ' But on a certain time 
it was said in my soul, ' Go ; there shalt thou meet with 
such of my j)eople as will be to thee in the place of near 
connections ; and if thou wilt be faithful, I will be with 
thee/ This was spoken to me in such power, that I was 
broken into tears, and said, ' Lord, I will obey.' " 

Though she was hindered for a time by the opposition 
of her parents and friends, as well as by her own unwil- 
lingness to go into a strange country, yet these obstacles 
were removed, and in the nineteenth year of her age she 
came to Philadelphia. As this step was taken in obedi- 
ence to the requirings of her heavenly Master, she says, 
" I felt His good presence near to me ; and an eye being 
opened in me toward Him, I became weaned from the 
gaieties, pleasures, and delights of this fading world ; they 
were all stained in my view, and an ardent thirst to par- 
take of the waters of life and salvation of God took place 
in my mind. I loved solitude — sought retirement — and 
embraced all opportunities of attending Divine service, 
so called, having free liberty from those among whom I 
lived so to do, they being very kind to me ; but still I 
found not that solid peace and satisfaction to my seeking 
soul, which I wanted. The reason hereof, as I have since 



40 JANE HOSKINS. 

experienced, was, because I sought the living among the 
dead, as too many do." 

About tills time she was brought under severe trials of 
an outward character, and the way opened for her to settle 
in Plymouth, as a teacher to the children of some mem- 
bers of the Society of Friends who were living there. Of 
her employers, she thus speaks: "After I had been some- 
time among them, and took notice of their way and man- 
ner of performing Divine worship to God, I was ready to 
conclude and say in my mind, surely those are His people ; 
and a brave, living people they really were ; there being 
divers worthies among them, who I believe are now in 
the fruition of joy unspeakable, and full of glory, the 
earnest of which, they, through mercy, then at times par- 
took of, to the satisfaction of their hungry and thirsty 
souls. The solid, weighty, and tender frame of spirit some 
of them were many times favored with in meetings, 
brought serious considerations over my mind, with this 
query ; Why is it not so with me ? And I said in my 
heart, these people are certainly better than I am, not- 
withstanding I have made a great deal more to do about 
religion than they. 

" As I was pondering on these things, the saying of the 
apostle, * that circumcision or uncircumcision avails noth- 
ing, but a new creature in Christ Jesus,' was often brought 
to my mind. I saw this work must begin in the heart 
and be carried on by a Divine power. This I was soon 
convinced of, and tiierefore could wait with patience, 
though in silence. But yet the whole work was not com- 
pleted, it went on gradually, step by step, which demon- 
strates the paternal care of our Heavenly Father, carry- 
ing the lambs in His arms, lest they should be weary and 
f^iint ! Who can but admire His goodness, and celebrate 
His praise? His wisdom and power are great. Oh ! that 
all would but dwell under His peaceable government, and 



JANE HOSKINS. 41 

learn of Him who is pure and holy. Through the opera- 
tion of Divine Goodness, great love was begotten in my 
heart to these people ; and if at any time Friends were 
concerned to speak against any evil habit of the mind, I 
did not put it from me, but was willing to take my part, 
and have sometimes thought it all belonged to me. 

" As I continued in this humble frame, and was diligent 
in attending meeting when I could, Infinite Goodness was 
graciously pleased to favor me with a fresh and large 
visitation of His heavenly love, and often tendered my 
spirit, and begot strong desires after true and saving knowl- 
edge, and that the way of life and salvation might be 
clearly demonstrated ; and blessed be His eternal name, 
He heard my cries, and was pleased to send His servants 
both male and female, filled with life and power, who 
sounded forth the gospel in Divine authority, declaring 
the way to the Father through the door of Christ, and 
opening the principles of these people, by turning our minds 
inward to the pure gift and manifestation of the Spirit. 

" This doctrine agreeing with what I had in some meas- 
ure been convinced of, I was made willing to join heartily 
with it, and was ready to say, these are true ministers of 
Christ, for they spoke with Divine power and authority, 
and not as the scribes. Now I was mightily reached unto, 
and stripped of all self-righteousness, and my state was 
opened to me in such a manner, that I was quite con- 
founded, and concluded that though I could talk of relig- 
ion, of being made a child of God, a member of His 
church, and an inheritor of His holy kingdom, there was 
as much need as ever to cry, Lord, have mercy on me a 
poor sinner! not having yet witnessed the law of the 
spirit of life in Christ Jesus, to set me free from the law 
of sin and death. Outward ceremonies availed nothing, 
the new birth was wanting, and must be witnessed in order 
to prepare me for the work whereunto the Lord had called 
4* 



42 JANE HOSKINS. 

me, and was about to engage me in. The baptism of the 
Spirit was to be known before I could be a member of 
Christ's church : this great work I saw, by Divine favor 
I must submit unto, if ever I came to be a partaker of 
that bread which nourishes the soul unto eternal life. 

"But oh ! the weight and exercise I was under during 
this time of refinement; the days and nights of godly 
sorrow and penitential mourning I underwent, are far 
beyond my ability to set forth in words ; and once being 
alone I wept exceedingly, and the desire of my soul was, 
that it might please the Almighty to show me His ways, 
to teach me His paths which lead to peace, and give me 
strength to walk therein according to His word ; promis- 
ing that I would endeavor to follow in the way which was 
most pleasing to Him, for that was what my panting soul 
most desired. My desires were not for great things, but 
Divine favor ; the Lord alone was become the centre of my 
happiness, and I believe I should have died at that time, 
had He not been pleased in a wonderful manner to mani- 
fest himself a present help in that needful time, and to 
reveal himself through His dear Son, Christ Jesus, by 
administering consolation to my wounded soul, filling my 
heart with heavenly luv^e, so that my cup ran over, and 
I was made to cry out. Oh, that all may know thee and 
thy goodness ! His matchless, loving kindness so overcame 
me, that I thought I could have gone through the world 
to proclaim the tender dealings of a merciful God to my 
soul. Here I again renewed my covenant with God, and 
promised obedience to His commands ; and oh, the calm, 
the peace, comfort and satisfaction wherewith my mind 
was clothed, like a child enjoying his father's favor, and 
with inexpressible delight beholding the smiles of his 
countenance. I was afraid to do or say anything that 
might oflTend the Lord, lest the rod might be laid heavy 
on me, for this is the portion of disobedience. In that 



JANE HOSKINS. 43 

time I became a wonder to many, but was treated with 
great tenderness by most of the Friends and neighbors. 
I had laid aside all superfluity of apparel, for which I 
had been condemned ; I attended meetings diligently, and 
walked three or four miles to them, sometimes alone, medi- 
tating upon the Lord, and thought the work of ray pres- 
ent and future happiness was now complete in me, that 
I had nothing to do but sit contented under the enjoyment 
of Divine favor, rejoicing that I had left all and followed 
Christ, whom I loved more than my natural life. Thus I 
concluded in my own mind, not knowing as yet what the 
Lord was preparing me for, nor that there was a further 
w^ork allotted me, w^iich I was a stranger to, till one time 
being in a meeting, and sitting very contented under my 
own vine and fig tree, a call arose in my mind, * I have 
chosen thee a vessel from thy youth to serve me, and to 
preach the gospel of salvation to many people; and if 
thou wilt be faithful, I will be with thee unto the end of 
time, and make thee an heir of my kingdom.'" 

Notwithstanding she had thought the work of her sal- 
vation " completed," yet when it was required of her to 
preach the word given her, she found great unwillingness 
to submit to the Divine requisition ; and many months of 
deep suffering were passed through, ere she was brought 
to yield up her own will, and faithfully to bear this cross. 

During the subsequent years of her life, she met with 
many trials and exercises, designed to promote her own 
growth in religious experience, and to prepare her for the 
performance of those services to which she was called by 
her Divine Master. But through all she was enabled to 
look to the Lord for counsel and help ; and this was re- 
markably extended, both inwardly and outwardly. The 
account she has left of the dealings of the Almighty with 
her, is very lively and instructive. In the course of her 
religious labors, she twice visited the churches in Great 



44 JOHN BANKS. 

Britain, and made two voyages to Barbadoes; besides 
travelling extensively on this continent. She concludes 
her narrative with the following brief review : 

" Upon the whole, I may say as did King David, * Day 
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth 
knowledge ; ' by sore afflictions we learn experience, and 
if we make a proper use thereof, all will in due time be 
sanctified to us, so that we shall receive the word of in- 
struction with joy." 



JOHN BANKS. 



John Banks was one of the early members of the 
Society of Friends in the north of England. His friends 
of Pardshaw Monthly Meeting, in the county of Cumber- 
land, have left on record a testimony to his worth, in 
which they say : " He was a faithful minister of the ever- 
lasting gospel, and given up to preach it freely, and labor 
faithfully in the work thereof: and went through great 
hardships, and travelled much both by sea and land; in 
Ireland, Scotland, and in this nation, and most of all in 
this county, where he labored night and day for the gather- 
ing of people to God, and for the settling of those who 
were gathered. . . . He was instrumental to gather sev- 
eral meetings in this county ; being an incessant laborer 
in the Lord's work, both in body and mind. ... It was 
not only given to him to believe, but to sufier for the tes- 
timony of God ; in which he was preserved firm and true, 
to the stripping of his goods by the Conventicle Act, public 
sale being made of what he had ; yet the Lord bore him 
up over all, that he was as one of the stakes of Zion, that 
could not be moved. He was afterwards in prison at 
Carlisle for his testimony; yet retained his integrity and 
etood faithful." 



JOHN BANKS. 45 

In his last illness, he would often say, that notwith- 
standing all his pain, his soul did praise and magnify the 
Lord, for His goodness towards him. A few hours before 
his death, he remarked how well it was to have nothing 
to do but to die. At another time he said, he was assured 
it would be well with him, and that he should end in the 
truth as he began. Some friends being with him a few 
days before his death, he said to them, " Although I am 
weak in body and do not know whether I may live much 
longer or no, I am, however, strong in the Lord, and in 
the power of His might, and have nothing to do but to 
die ; for I am rich in faith towards God, and my cup is 
full of the love of God. Whether I live or. die it will be 
well with my soul ; for blessed be the Lord ; I can say 
with the wise and holy apostle Paul, that I have fought a 
good fight and kept the faith, and henceforth there is laid 
u}) for me a crown of eternal life." 

In the latter part of his life, John Banks wrote a Jour- 
nal, showing, as he says, " the manner of my education 
and convincement, how I came to receive the knowledge 
of God, and of His blessed truth ; the travail of my soul 
under judgment ; how I came through the same to obtain 
mercy at the Lord's hand for sin and transgression." 
From this valuable record of Christian experience, the 
following account has been condensed : 

" When about sixteen years of age, in the 10th mo., 
1654, it pleased the Lord to reach to my heart and con- 
science, by His pure, living Spirit, in the blessed appear- 
ance thereof in and through Jesus Christ ; whereby I re- 
ceived the knowledge of God, and the way of His blessed 
truth, by myself alone in the field, before I ever heard any 
one called a Quaker preach ; and before I was at any 
of their meetings. But the first day that I went to one, 
which was at Pardshaw, the Lord's power so seized upon 
me in the meeting, that I was made to cry out in the 



46 JOHN BANKS. 

bitterness of ray soul, in a true sight and sense of my sins, 
which appeared exceeding sinful ; and the same day as I 
was going to an evening meeting of God's people, scorn- 
fully called Quakers, by the way, I was smitten to the 
ground with the weight of God's judgment for sin and 
iniquity w^hich fell heavy upon me, and I was taken up 
by two Friends. Oh ! the godly sorrow that took hold of 
me that night in the meeting ; so that I thought in myself 
every one's condition was better than mine. A Friend 
who was touched with a sense of my condition and greatly 
pitied me, was made willing to read a paper in the meet- 
ing, which was so suitable to my condition, that it helped 
me a little, and gave some ease to my spirit. I was now 
very much bowed down and perplexed, my sins being set 
in order before me; and the time I had spent in wild- 
ness and wantonness, out of the fear of God, in vanity, 
sport, and pastime, came into my view and remembrance. 
The book of my conscience was opened, for I was by 
nature wild and wanton ; and though there were good 
desires stirring in me many times, and something that 
judged me and reproved me, and often strove with rae to 
restrain me from evil, yet not being sensible what it was, 
I had got over it. 

" I was like those who make merry over the witness of 
God, even the witness and testimony of His Holy Spirit, 
in and through Jesus Christ, His Son, made known in God's 
great love to the sons and daughters of men. This was 
that, whereby the Lord many times strove with me, until 
at last He prevailed upon me. So that I may say, as a 
true witness for God, and the sufficiency of His power and 
quickening Spirit, I did not only come to be convinced 
by the living appearance of the Lord Jesus, of the vanity, 
sin, and wickedness which the world lies in, and that I 
was partaker thereof; but by taking heed thereto, through 
watchfulness and fear, I came to be sensible of the work 



JOHN BANKS. 47 

thereof in my heart, in order to subdue and bring down 
the wild nature in me, and to wash and cleanse me from 
sin and corruption, that I might be changed and con- 
verted. But before I came to witness this work effected, 
oh, the days and nights of godly sorrow and spiritual pain 
I travelled through for some years ! ... As I travelled 
under the ministration of condemnation and judgment for 
sin and transgression, great was the warfare I had with 
the enemy of my soul, who, through his subtlety, sought 
to betray me from the simplicity of the Truth, and to per- 
syade me to despair, as though there was no mercy for 
me; yet in some small measure I knew the Lord had 
showed mercy to me, which He mixed with judgment, for 
my sins past. But the experience I had gained in the 
travail of my soul, and the faith begotten of God in my 
heart, strengthened me to withstand the enemy and his 
subtle reasonings. 

" I overcame the wicked one, through a diligent waiting 
in the light, and keeping close to the power of God, wait- 
ing upon Him in silence among His people, in which exer- 
cise my soul delighted. 

" Oh, the comfort and Divine consolation we were made 
partakers of in those days ; and in the inward sense and 
feeling of the Lord^s power and presence with us, we en- 
joyed one another, and were near and dear one unto 
another. But it was through various trials and deep 
exercises, with fear and trembling, that thus we were 
made partakers. Blessed and happy are they who know 
what the truth has cost them, and hold it in righteous- 
ness. 

" Waiting diligently in the light, and keeping close to 
the power of God ; which is therein received, I came to 
experience the work thereof in my heart, in order to 
effect my freedom from bondage, which by degrees went 
on and prospered in me, and so I gained ground more 



48 JOHN BANKS. 

and more against the enemy of my soul, through faith in 
the power of God ; without w^hich no victory is obtained. 

" My prosperity in the truth I always found was by 
being faithful to the Lord, in what He manifested, though 
but in small things; unfaithfulness in which, is the cause 
of loss and hurt to many in their growth in the truth. 

"After I had passed through great tribulation, weeping 
and mourning in woods and solitary places alone, where 
I often desired to be, I came to more settlement in my 
spiiit, and peace began to spring in my soul ; where 
trouble and sorrow had been. Then at times I would be 
ready to think, that I should not again meet with such 
combats and besetments by the enemy of my soul, as I 
had passed through. But the more I grew in experience 
of the dealings of the Lord with me ; so much the more 
did the enemy transform himself, and as he could not 
prevail by his former presentations, so in his subtlety he 
would invent new ones. Thus I came clearly to see that 
it was not safe for me to sit down satisfied with what I 
had passed through, or the victory I had already obtained; 
but to travel on in faith and patience, and watch dili- 
gently in the light of Jesus Christ, where the true power 
is still received. For notwithstanding the many deliver- 
ances, and strength and victory I had experienced, the 
Lord, according to the greatness of His wisdom, was 
pleased to make me sensible of my own weakness, and 
that there was no strength to stand, no place of safety for 
me to abide in, but in His power, and under a sense 
thereof I was humbled, bowed, and laid low. 

" Wherefore I took up a godly resolution in His fear, 
* I will rely upon the sufficiency of thy power, O Lord, 
forever.' About six years after I had received the truth, 
through great exercise and godly sorrow, I came to be 
settled in the power of God, and made weighty in my 
spirit thereby ; and had some openings from the Spirit of 



JOHN BANKS. 49 

Truth, in silent waitings upon the Lord ; which tended to 
minister comfort and satisfaction to my soul, in a renewed 
experience of the dealings of the Lord with me ; and the 
Lord opened my mouth with a testimony in the fresh spring 
of life, that I was to give forth to His children and peo- 
ple." 

Having been himself taught in the school of Christ, 
John Banks was prepared to point out to others the way 
to the kingdom of heaven, and to speak of those things 
which his own hands had handled of the word of life. A 
few extracts from his writings, wnll show the clear and 
practical, yet wise and spiritual, character of his advices 
to those who were seeking deliverance from the power of 
sin. 

In an epistle to the people of Carlisle, he says : " This, 
the Light of Christ, the Grace of God, the Spirit of Truth 
will do for thee, if thou lovest it and believest in it : when 
thou art tempted to sin, power from God will be given 
unto thee through it, which thou hast not of thyself, to 
overcome the wicked one in his temptations. . . . Thus 
power is given over the temptation, and so over sin ; one 
temptation and sin after another is gradually overcome ; 
for as many as believe in Him, who said, *I am the light,' 
to them He gives power to become the sons of God. . . . 

" Is not He at the door of your hearts, to call you to 
repentance, by His light, grace, and holy Spirit ? And if 
there be not a believing in Him by obeying the same, 
what availeth His death and suffering to you, and the 
shedding of His precious blood for you, if sin be not fin- 
ished here, and transgression put to an end. Eph. v. 5, 
and read to the 21st verse. No unclean thing can enter 
into the kingdom of Christ and of God. . . . 

" Was not sin the cause wherefore He suffered : and if 
the cause through faith in Him, be not taken away, how 
shall the effect cease? but if the cause through faith in 
5 D 



50 JOHN BANKS. 

Him, be taken away, then the effect ceaseth, and everlast- 
ing felicity, world without end, ensueth." . . . 

In an epistle on the blessed effects of true and saving 
faith, written from his prison-house in Carlisle, John 
Banks thus counsels those "who are young in the truth, 
and whom the enemy may bear hard upon by tempta- 
tions." — " Dear Friend, in much tenderness my soul 
breathes unto the Lord for thy deliverance ; and in order 
that thou mayst be delivered from that which so oppresses 
thee in spirit, or stands in thy way, mark well what I say 
unto thee. Thou wiliest too much, and through thy will- 
ing thou wouldst run too fast, and make too much haste, 
striving to get over things, which is the. great cause why 
thou comest short of obtaining victory through faith." 
" Stand still and patiently wait to receive the power which 
the Lord will give to all in His own time, not in theirs, 
w^ho patiently wait for it ; that so patience in thee may 
have its perfect work, and thou mayst have the victory 
given to thee over all the temptations of the enemy, 
through faith in the power of God." 

This advice is in accordance with the sense that many 
have had impressed on them, of the necessity of patiently 
enduring every dispensation of the Almighty, until its full 
effect was received. Where a hasty and impatient dispo- 
sition is indulged, persons are very liable to content them- 
selves with only a partial experience of the work of Grace ; 
and to sit down short of the true rest. That valuable 
minister, John Griffith, who was a man of great spiritual 
discernment, thus speaks of this class of professors in his 
day : — " Others there be, who imagine conversion is effected 
in an instant ; and in order that their deception may be 
effectual, the false prophet causes fire to come down aa 
from heaven in their sight ; he that is prince of the airy 
region, raises vehement heats and agitations upon their 
passions. This they call the workings of the Spirit upon 



JOHN BANKS. 51 

them for their conversion ; immediately after which a kind 
of heaven is formed, wherein they take their rest with a 
seeming security, erroneously supposing their calling and 
election are made sure, and that they can never fall from 
saving grace, which they doubt not of having in their 
possession. Oh ! how dangerous is such a security.'' 

In common with his fellows-members of the Society of 
Friends, in its early days, John Banks was a full believer 
in the outward coming, death, and sufferings of Christ; 
and in the benefit resulting therefrom to mankind. A 
few years before his death, he wrote " A true testimony 
concerning my faith in Christ," from which the following 
passages are taken : 

" I believe in that same Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God, for remission of sins, and the salvation of my soul, 
who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin 
Mary, made a good confession before Pontius Pilate, and 
was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem. 

" I also believe in Him, as to His appearing the second 
time, without sin, unto salvation, to all that look for Him, 
by His living and eternal spirit, the Spirit of truth, which 
the w^orld cannot receive ; as when He prayed unto the 
Father, that He would send the Comforter, that leads 
into all truth, all that believe in Him thereby. 

" When it pleased the Lord to visit me with the day- 
spring of His love from on high, in the days of my youth, 
by this Spirit of life and truth, sin and Satan were mani- 
fested ; and if at any time I was prevailed upon, by enter- 
ing into any of his temptations, I was reproved and judged 
thereby. But when faith was begotten in my heart, to 
believe in the Spirit of truth that reproved me, I received 
powder from Him in whom I did and do believe, to over- 
come one sin after another, in order to a perfect freedom 
from it, which must be in this life, or else there is no enter- 
ing into the kingdom of heaven. For all who live and 



52 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 

die in sin are unclean, and therefore cannot enter the 
kingdom. 

" This is the blessed effect of the faith of every true be- 
liever in the Lord Jesus Christ ; as to His birth, suffering, 
resurrection, ascension, and second coming without sin, 
unto salvation ; in whom all must believe for life and 
salvation to their souls, whoever come to know the full 
assurance thereof, in the kingdom of happiness, and end- 
less glory. 

" Blessed, praised, and magnified be the worthy name 
of the Lord our God forever, who hath opened our under- 
standings by His power, whereby we know Him in whom 
we do believe ; which is not to believe in the Light within, 
distinct from Christ; — or as if people could believe in the 
Light and not in Christ. But we believe in both as one; 
knowing and being clear in our understanding, that no 
separation can be made between Christ and the Light 
that comes from Him, which shines in the hearts of all 
true believers ; and shines in the darkness of unbelievers, 
and therefore the darkness cannot comprehend it. So we 
as truly believe in that same Christ, who laid down His 
body and took it up again, as in His Light within ; and we 
have benefit to salvation, by the one as well as the other; 
and of both, they being one ; and are willing to lay hold 
of every help and means, God, in and through Jesus 
Christ, has ordained for our salvation." 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSOK 

William Edmiindson was the most prominent among 
the early members of the Society of Friends in Ireland, 
whither he removed from England whilst yet a young 
man. He travelled much in the work of the ministry, 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 53 

not only in his adopted country, but in other parts of 
Great Britain, and on the continent of North America ; 
and was instrumental in awakening many to an earnest 
concern for their souls' salvation. He was of great ser- 
vice in promoting the introduction and settlement of meet- 
ings for discipline in the Society to which he belonged, 
and labored fervently that its members might be preserved 
in that simple and pure conduct and manner of living, 
and that liveliness of spirit, w^hich were consistent with 
the principles they professed. Being a man of undaunted 
courage, and much force of character, his labors wdth 
those in authority for the good of his fellow members 
when suffering from religious persecution, were often 
blessed and crowned with success. During the civil war 
attending the expulsion of James the Second from the 
throne of Great Britain, his dwelling was burnt, his goods 
plundered, and his life in imminent danger from the vio- 
lence of bloodthirsty men, by whom he was grossly abused. 
Through all the vicissitudes that attended his career, he 
preserved his Christian character unblemished. In his 
journal he says : 

" I was born at Little-Musgrove, in Westmoreland, in 
the year 1627. . . . After sometime I was bound appren- 
tice in York to the trade of a carpenter and joiner, where 
I lived some years. In this time, the Lord began to work 
in the hearts of many people in that city, so that there 
were great openings in the things of God, both in preachers 
and hearers. Then the Lord began to visit me with His 
judgments, and to set my sins before me: many times I 
was under great exercises concerning my salvation, and 
also about election and reprobation. So many things 
wrought mightily in my mind about religion, that I was 
often brought very low in my spirit, and at public worship 
in the steeple-house at times, the Lord's judgments would 
seize upon me heavily. One time in the public worship, 



54 WILLIAM EDMUNBSOK. 

the hand of the Lord was so upon me, that I shed abun- 
dance of tears in weeping and bewailing my wretched state ; 
and the priest and congregation took notice of me, but 
none directed me aright to the Physician who could heal 
my wounded spirit. 

" About this time I went into the Parliament's army, 
and there continued part of the war between the king and 
parliament ; and when that was over I went into Scotland 
under Oliver Cromwell in the year 1650. The Lord 
began afresh with me, and many times His heavy judg- 
ments would seize upon me, and bring me low in a con- 
sideration of the life I lived in, and what the end would 
be ; and sometimes His mercies would spring in my heart 
to my great refreshment, and cause tears of joy and glad- 
ness. But I knew not the secret hand that was dealing 
with me, neither met I with any who informed me, although 
in the army we had many high professors of religion. 
Sometimes when I had been on service most of the day, 
and was lying down in my tent at night, then would arise 
in my mind the imminent dangers I had passed that day, 
and the narrow escapes my life had, and what would have 
become of my soul, if I had fallen while in uncertainty of 
my future happiness ; with resolutions to turn to the Lord 
by repentance and amendment of life ; bat when action 
presented, which I was active in at that time, I got over 
it again in my vanity. 

"In the year 1651, the Scotch army marched for Eng- 
land ; we followed and engaged them at Worcester, and 
overthrew their army. After the fight I was troubled in 
mind for my vanity, for the Lord preserved my life still ; 
but I fled from judgment, and made merry over God's 
witness in my conscience, which testified against me. . . . 

" One market-day at Chesterfield, I was in a tavern with 
others of my companions, and two women of the people 
called Quakers, spoke of the things of God to the people 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 55 

in the market. I did not hear of them until they were 
gone, but the priest of the town, and several with him, 
abused them. When they had done they came to the 
tavern, into the room where I and my companions were, 
it being a large dining-room, where the priest boasted of 
what he had done to the two women, thinking we would 
praise him, but I loved to hear of the women, and hated 
his behavior towards them. 

. "A young man, a merchant, then present, who fre- 
quented my company and would often speak of the peo- 
ple called Quakers, and say their principles were the 
truth, hearing the priest boast of his abusive behavior to 
the said two women, answered and said, It was a poor 
victory he had gotten over two poor women ; at which the 
priest was very angry and began to storm. My spirit 
rose against him ; I started up from my seat, and asked 
the priest and them with him, if they came to quarrel? 
saying, if they did, they should have enough. The priest 
answered. No, not with you, sir. I bid them leave the 
room, which they presently did ; but these things came 
close to me, and the more I heard of this people the better 
I loved them, and earnest desires sprung afresh in my 
heart, that the Lord would show me the way of truth." 

About this time William Edmundson left the army, 
married, and having bought a quantity of merchant goods, 
settled in Ireland. He says : " My inclinations were after 
religion, and my conscience began to be awakened by the 
Lord's judgments mixed with mercy, which preserved 
me. 

" I soon sold the goods I brought over, and forthwith 
went for England to buy more ; and coming into the north 
of England among my relations, at the time George Fox 
and James Nay lor were in that country, James Nay lor 
having a meeting about three miles from where I was, I 
went to it with my eldest brother Thomas, and another 



56 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 

kinsman, having an earnest desire to converse with some 
of that people, retaining a love for, and believing well of 
them from the first hearing the report of them ; and I was 
glad of this opportunity. We were all three convinced of, 
the Lord's blessed truth ; for God's witness in our hearts 
answered to the truth of what was spoken, and the Lord's 
former dealings with me came fresh into my remembrance. 
Then I knew it was the Lord's hand that had been striv- 
ing wdth mefor a long time. This was in the year 1653. 

" Then my understanding began to be opened, and many 
scriptures were brought to my remembrance, which I had 
often read, yet understood not ; but now being turned to 
a measure of the Lord's Spirit manifested in my heart, 
which had often reproved me for evil in my ignorance, I 
knew it was the truth which led into all truth, agreeably 
to the Holy Scriptures of the law and prophets, Christ 
and His apostles, and I thought all that heard it de- 
clared must own it, it was so plain to me. A few days 
after I was thus far convinced of the blessed truth, the 
Lord's power seized upon me through His Spirit, whereby 
I was brought under great exercises of mind ; yea, all my 
parts came under this exercise, for the Lord's hand was 
mighty upon me, in judgments mixed with mercies; so 
that my former ways were hedged up. But I loved the 
Lord's judgments, for I knew I had sinned against Him, 
and must be purged through judgment. And though 
under this exercise of conscience towards God, yet I did 
my business in England, and shipped my goods to be 
landed at Carrickfergus or Belfast. 

" Whilst I was at sea, self reasoned strongly to save 
the duty on my goods, for I had an opportunity to do it, 
the troop my brother belonged to quartering at Carrick- 
fergus and Belfast, who would have helped me night or 
day. But I durst not do it, my conscience being awa- 
kened to plead for truth, justice, and equity ; yet there was 



WILLIAM EBMUNDSON. 57 

a great contest between conscience and self, and in this 
conflict many scriptures were opened to my understand- 
ing, that duties and customs ought to be paid ; and though 
self struggled hard for mastery, yet at last was overthrown, 
and the judgment of truth prevailed. 

" I landed at Carrickfergus, where a trooper readily 
lent me his horse, and I rode that evening home to An- 
trim, where my wife lived. When I came to the door, 
my brother came forth to salute me with his usual com- 
pliments ; but the Lord's power seized upon me at that 
instant, he was struck amazed, went in, and sat down silent. 
I was much broken in the power of the Lord before them, 
and my brother made no opposition, but received the 
truth and joined with it. 

" I returned to Carrickfergus to bring my goods ashore, 
but the officers required an oath to the truth of my bills 
of parcels, and not suffering them to come ashore without 
it, would have seized upon my goods. I told them, I 
could not swear, for it was contrary to Christ's command, 
which seemed a strange thing to them, not having met 
with the like before ; but the Lord's truth and testimony 
was precious to me, and after some time, with much diffi- 
culty, I got an order to bring my goods to the custom 
house. My deportment to the officers and others herein 
was a wonder to them, and caused much discourse and 
various rumors to be spread of the Quakers, and of me 
in particular. 

" After I came home with my goods, the Lord's hand 
was heavy upon me day and night, so that I travailed 
under a great conflict between flesh and spirit, and was 
much cast down with sorrow and trouble of mind : but 
none there understood the cause of my sorrow and trou-* 
ble, or gave a word of comfort to ease me. I would 
have gone far for the company of an experienced Friend. 
My sleep departed from me, and many times in the night, 



68 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 

in great trouble of mind, crying and weeping, I wished 
for day, and when day came, my sorrows remaining, I 
wished again for night. In this restless state, I had none 
who had trod this path to converse with; so that the 
rumor of my condition spread abroad among the pro- 
fessors ; many would come to gaze on me, jangle, and con- 
tend against truth, and some would say I was bewitched ; 
others, I was going mad. So talk and rumor concerning 
me spread a great way among people. 

" About this time one Miles Bousfield came from Eng- 
land to Ireland, at whose house George Fox had been. 
He had been in some degree convinced of the truth, and 
came away upon it ; he was a great talker of religion, but 
an enemy and a stranger to the cross of Christ, Hearing 
of me, and of the exercise I was in, he came to see me. 
I was not at home when he came, but he talked to my 
wife, and spoke well of the Quakers and their principles, 
seeming to be glad that he had found such a companion 
in this nation as I was, and the comfort we should have 
of one another. 

" When I came home, my wife told me of his having 
been there, and the discourse he had with her, of which 
I was glad to hear, and soon took my horse and rode 
twelve miles to see him, and staid with him all night. He 
talked abundance of religion, and of the inward work of 
God in man by His spirit, and spoke well of George Fox 
and James Nay lor, and of their doctrine, which I liked 
well ; but said he knew those things before he saw or 
heard them ; and spoke 'much of his knowledge of God 
and Christ. I sat in silence with attention to hear him ; 
for I was cast down, poor, and low in my spirit, yet glad 
trhat I had met with such a knowing man in the tilings of 
God, and His work in man by His spirit, to advise me in 
my great troubles of a wounded spirit. He advised me 
to be cheerful and merry, and not to look at those inward 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 59 

troubles, that bowed me down ; which was the enemy's 
work to lead me into despair, and destroy me, by swallow- 
ing me up in much trouble ; and as it was plainly mani- 
fest, that God had a love for me, to make me a chosen 
vessel of mercy, He would love me to the end ; and noth- 
ing in me could hinder His love, or frustrate His will. 

" This doctrine healed me without the cross of Christ 
or self-denial ; which answered my will and carnal de- 
sires ; for I loved the truth which I was convinced of, 
and would have had it, together with my carnalities, 
fleshly liberties, worldly pleasures and profits ; so when 
the Lord's power would rise to bow me down under His 
cross, I would reason against it with those arguments 
afore mentioned, and thereby would get from under judg- 
ment. But this ease and slight healing lasted only about 
a week ; for the Lord would not leave me so, praised be 
His name forever, whose merciful hand preserved me, 
and His power took fresh hold of my heart and inward 
parts, which bowed me under His judgments, and opened 
the eye of my understanding, plainly showing me there 
was that alive in me that must be crucified, which opposed 
the will of God. 

" Then I saw where Bousfield was, and all of his spirit, 
and the wounds of my restless spirit were opened wider 
than before, and Major Bousfield's slight cure was all 
marred, and the false rest he set me in taken away. I 
had none now to trust to but the Lord, for counsel and 
information, whose care was greatly manifested for my 
preservation, redemption, and information, through many 
temptations and deep afflictions that did attend me many 
ways, with many opposers and contenders. I was weak, 
but the Lord's strength was perfect in weakness, and His 
spirit and power increased in me through obedience to the 
cross of Christ, wherein I was daily exercised, and thereby 



60 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 

grew into acquaintance with the Lord's work, to make me 
a vessel for His purpose. 

"In the spring following, I removed with my family 
from Antrim, to live in the county of Armagh ; took a 
house and grazing for my cattle, and kept a shop of some 
merchant goods, where I became the talk and gazing stock 
of the people. . Professors watched me narrowly to get 
occasion against me and the principles of truth I pro- 
fessed, but the Lord strengthened me in my watch over 
my words and deeds, and so cut off occasion from them 
that sought occasion against the truth and me. 

" In those days, to use the plain and proper speech, as 
thee and thou to a single person, and keeping on the hat, 
were strange things to people, and few could suffer them 
to be used ; but w^ould reflect in abusive words, and some- 
times use blows or throw stones. Keeping to one price 
in selling goods, and to the first asking without abate- 
ment, was a great stumbling block to most sorts of people, 
and made them stand at a distance from buying for some 
time, until they saw further into the justice thereof. All 
things were rough and rugged in the world, and the cross 
of Christ was foolishness, and a stumbling block to them. 

" My exercises and trials both within and without were 
many, and of divers sorts, beyond what I can express. 
The Lord's judgments clave close to me ; I was made to 
love them, and willing to wait upon the Lord in the ways 
thereof. Sometimes when the Lord's hand would be easy 
with me, I would be afraid lest He should withdraw His 
hand ; then my desires were to the Lord not to slacken 
His hand, but to search me thoroughly; for His judg- 
ments were become sweet to my taste, which He many 
times mixed with springs of mercy, to my joy and com- 
fort. Business in the affairs of the world- became a trou- 
ble to me, though there were presentations and opportu- 
nities to geL riches. ... 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 61 

" My brother being convinced of the truth, my wife, he, 
and I, met together twice a week at my house ; in a while 
after four more were convinced, and then we seven met 
together to wait upon God, and to worship Him in spirit 
and truth. The Lord's mercy and goodness were often 
extended to us to our comfort and confirmation, in the ap- 
pearance of His blessed truth received in our hearts." 

An incident recorded in William Edmundson's Jour- 
nal, is here introduced, to illustrate the manner in which 
the Lord is pleased at times to operate on the hearts of 
His servants for the accomplishment of His designs ; and 
also to show the strength of that faith, which led this 
Friend to turn his back on his home, though he believed 
his property was in danger. He ^ays : 

"About this time there were two women Friends from 
London, Anne Gould and Julian Wastwood, who came to 
Dublin and travelled to Londonderry, having some draw- 
ings to that place. After some service for the Lord there, 
they travelled to Colerain, so through the Scotch country 
to a place called Clough, all on foot in winter time, wad- 
ing rivers and dirty, miry ways. Anne Gould being a 
tender woman, was much spent and staid at Clough ; the 
enemy persuading her that God had forsaken her, and 
that she was there to be destroyed, so that she fell into 
despair ; but I knew nothing of them. 

"At this time my brother and I were at a fair in An- 
trim ; being late there, we proposed to lodge that night 
at Glenavy, six miles on our way homeward. Before we 
got to Glenavy, I was under a great exercise of spirit, and 
the word of the Lord came unto me, that my shop was in 
danger to be robbed that night. I told my brother of it; 
so we concluded to travel home, and went about a mile 
beyond Glenavy ; but my spirit was still under a great 
exercise, the word of the Lord moving me to turn back 
towards Clough. I was brought under a great exercise 



62 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON^. 

between these two motions, to travel back and my service 
unknown ; and my shop on the other hand in danger to 
be robbed, which brought me into a great strait, for fear 
of a wrong spirit. I cried to the Lord in much tender- 
ness of spirit, and His word answered me, That which drew 
me back should preserve my shop ; so we went back to 
Glenavy, and lodged there. That night I slept little, be- 
cause of many doubts about the concern : on the other 
hand I durst not disobey, for I knew the terrors of God 
for disobedience. 

" The next morning, my brother went home, but I rode 
back to Antrim. Towards evening I came to Clough, 
and took up my lodging at an inn, the country being gen- 
erally inhabited by Scotch people and Presbyterians. 
When I came into the house, I found Anne Gould, in 
despair, and Julian Wastwood with her, but when they 
knew who I was and heard my name, for they had heard 
of me before, the poor disconsolate woman revived for joy 
and gladness, and got up, for she was in bed overwhelmed 
under trouble of mind. I saw then that my service of 
coming there was for her sake. When we came to dis- 
course of matters, I told them how I was brought there 
by the good hand of God, led as an horse by the bridle, 
to the place where they were. They therefore greatly 
rejoiced and praised God ; the tender woman was helped 
over her trouble ; and she saw it was a trial of great 
temptations she had lain under. They had a mind to go 
to Carrickfergus, to my house, and to Dublin to take 
shipping for England ; but neither of them would under- 
take to ride single, therefore I was forced the next day 
to carry them behind me, first one and then the other. 
When we came in very foul way, I set them both on 
horseback, and waded myself through dirt and mire in 
my boots, holding them both on horseback with my hands. 
We came to Conyers that night, and lodged there ; the 



WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 63 

next day I got them to Carrickfergus ; and there leaving 
them, rode home, and sent my brother and two horses, to 
bring them to my house. 

" When I came home, I inquired about my shop, 
■whether it had been in danger of robbing ? They told 
me, the night I was under that exercise about it, the shop 
window was broken down and fell with such violence on 
the counter, that it awakened our people, and the thieves 
were affi'ighted and ran away. So I was confirmed it was 
the word of the Lord that said, that which drew me back 
should preserve my shop, and I was greatly strengthened 
in the word of life, to obey the Lord in w^iat He required 
of me ; for I was much afraid lest at any time my under- 
standing should be betrayed by "a wrong spirit, not fearing 
the loss of goods nor sufferings for Truth, its testimony 
being more to me than all other things.'^ 

In another part of his Journal, he bears this testimony 
to the feelings that actuated the members of the Society 
of Friends in that time, when the dew of its youth rested 
upon it: 

" Li those days the world and the things of it were not 
near our hearts, but the love of God, His truth and testi- 
mony lived in our hearts ; we were glad of one another's 
company, though sometimes our outward fare was very 
mean, and our lodging on straw ; we did not mind high 
things, but were glad one of another's welfare in the Lor^, 
and His love dwelt in us." 

As William Edmundson in his youthful days was con^- 
cerned to dig deep, and lay the foundation of his spiritual 
building on the Rock, he found it able to endure all the 
storms that assailed it through a life prolonged to nearly 
eighty-five years — a life marked with abundant labors 
for the spiritual and temporal welfare of his fellow-men, 
and accompanied with trials of no ordinary nature. The 



64 WILLIAM EDMUNDSON. 

following memorandum, penned in his old age, gives a 
brief review of his course. 

"In the Eighth month, 1704, in the seventy-seventh 
year of my age, being under much affliction and weakness 
of body, I was resigned unto the blessed will of the Lord, 
and were it His time, would gladly have been dissolved 
and at ease, * where the weary are at rest, and the wicked 
cease from troubling.' For I was not afraid of death or 
the grave, but could say, through the tender mercy of 
God, ' Death, where is thy sting ? Grave, where is thy 
victory ? ' through steadfast faith and hope in my Lord 
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who suffered for me, and whom 
death or the grave could not hold ; but who rose again, 
and appears before the Father for me, as advocate, medi- 
ator, and interceder. In my youthful days He was pleased 
to visit me with the appearance of His Holy Spirit, to turn 
me from the evil of my ways, making me sensible of His 
judgments and mercies, calling me by His grace to a refor- 
mation ; and also put me into His service in the ministra- 
tion of the Word of Life, and doctrine of His kingdom, en- 
dowing me with a talent of His Holy Spirit of understand- 
ing in doctrine and discipline, for the benefit of His church. 
In which I have labored for the space of above fifty years, 
according to my strength and ability, through many trou- 
bles, deep exercises and perils of divers kind, by sea and 
land, which fell to my lot in the Lord's service, both in 
the wilderness by robbers and blood-thirsty murderers, by 
open opposers and enemies to truth, and, worst of all, 
by false brethren under the same profession. These 
things, and many other great exercises and straits, the 
Lord's arm and gracious providence have still preserved 
me through, and supported me over in the faith that gives 
the victory, having blessed His work, and given the testi- 
mony of His truth dominion to this present time." 

His friends testify, that, "Having run the race with 



JOSEPH PIKE. 65 

patience, and kept the faith, he departed this life in sweet 
peace with the Lord, in unity with his brethren, and good- 
will to all men." 



JOSEPH PIKE. 



Joseph Pike was a valuable elder in the Society of 
Friends, and was born in the year 1657, near Cork, in 
Ireland. In his old age, he wrote an account of his 
Christian experience, chiefly for the use of his own chil- 
dren, in which he thus narrates the dealings of the Al- 
mighty with him : 

" Before I was seven years of age, the Spirit of the Lord 
began to work in my mind, and strove with me, to bring 
me off from childish playfulness and vanities. His holy 
light in my soul, as I soon after found it to be, convinced 
me that I ought not to give way to, nor do, this or the 
other thing which presented ; and when at any time, I did 
what I should not have done, it brought upon me trouble 
and condemnation, even in those early days, as it hath 
always since, when I did anything that offended the Lord. 

" Though I did not presently know that it was the Lord's 
Spirit which I felt working in me, as Samuel knew not 
the Lord's voice when a child, yet being convinced in my- 
self by its holy convictions, that I ought not to do those 
things which brought trouble upon me, and also, that when 
at any time I refrained from doing w^hat caused this trou- 
ble, I had sweet peace and satisfaction of mind, it made 
me the more to attend to its dictates, and drew me off 
from many childish actions, which youth are prone to; 
whereby, I grew into sobriety beyond many of my age, 
until I came to be about nine years old. 
6* E 



66 JOSEPH PIKE. 

" But in a little time after, I began by degrees to lose 
this condition; and I well remember how the enemy of 
my soul worked in a mystery, insinuating into my mind, 
* What harm or evil is there in things that are accounted 
innocent diversions?' And being of a lively, active tem- 
per this bait took with me ; so that my mind was drawn 
off from attending to the convictions of the Lord's Holy 
Spirit in my heart, which did often bring trouble and 
condemnation upon me. Beginning to love playful pas- 
times, I lost that inward sweetness and peace which I had 
before enjoyed ; and by endeavoring to stifle these secret 
reproofs, I grew harder, until, from a desire to keep com- 
pany with other wild boys, I took delight in getting out 
into the streets to play with them, so that I grew very 
wanton, although my dear parents endeavored to restrain 
me. After I had been associating with such companions, 
when I came to be a little still, the Lord's judgments 
would seize me and bring me under great trouble of soul ; 
then I would resolve to refrain and do so no more. Yet 
perhaps the next temptation that offered, I could not with- 
stand, but fell into the same snare again. 

" Thus it was with me, until I came to be about twelve 
years of age; although, to the praise of the Lord, I was 
preserved from any very wicked or gross actions. 

" William Edmundson, of Rosenallis, that worthy and 
honorable Friend and father in Israel, was concerned 
about this time to visit Friends of this province; and 
being at Cork, the evening meeting fell in course at the 
house of the widow, Bridget Denis, who became a faith- 
ful Friend, and towards her latter end had a testimony 
for Truth, and I doubt not died in the Lord. To this 
meeting I went with great heaviness and sorrow upon my 
soul, under a mournful sense of my repeated transgres- 
sions against the Lord ; and also with earnest cries, that 
He would be pleased to forgive me, and for the time to 



JOSEPH PIKE. 67 

come grant me power and strength over the temptations 
of the enemy ; for I clearly saw, that I was not capable, 
by any ability of my own, to preserve myself from the 
least evil, agreeably to the saying of our blessed Lord, 
'Without me ye can do nothing.' I sat down in the 
meeting full of sorrow; and Wm. Edmundson's testimony 
so reached my inward state and condition, and pierced 
my very soul, that I could not refrain crying out in the 
meeting, under a sense of my sins, and of the Lord's 
terrors and judgments, which I then felt beyond what I 
had ever before experienced. And I was, at that time, 
as truly baptized by the powerful preaching of the word 
of life by him, as those were to. whom the Apostle Peter 
preached ; Acts ii. 37. Then, oh then, were my sins, and 
the sinfulness of them set before me ; and in the agony 
and bitterness of my soul, I secretly cried unto the Lord 
for the pardon and remission of them, with humble pray- 
ers unto Him, that He would be pleased to enable me by 
His Holy Spirit to walk more circumspectly for the time 
to come, and do His holy will, and that I might truly 
serve and worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

"But the Lord's heavy judgments continued upon me 
for a considerable time, how long I cannot exactly re- 
member, but I believe for some months, until I became 
obedient to His divine Light and good Spirit in my soul, 
without which I could not perform anything that was ac- 
ceptable to God. And I have since found by living ex- 
perience, that although our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, by His sufferings and death, placed me and all 
mankind in a condition capable of salvation, yet the 
completion thereof was, and is, in our obedience to His 
Holy Spirit, a measure of which, according to Scripture, 
He hath given to each of us ' to profit withal,' that we 
may thereby work out our own salvation. 

" After the baptizing power of the Lord had thus seized 



68 JOSEPH PIKE. 

upon me, I had dominion given me over those temptations 
which had before so often prevailed upon me, and I grew 
easier in spirit and had great sweetness and comfort. My 
companions wondered at this alteration ; and when I 
passed them in the street, I have overheard them say one 
to another, 'What's the matter with Joe Pike? he won't 
speak to us;' at which I rejoiced greatly in my heart, 
with humble thanks to the Lord, that he had given me 
so much power and victory over the temptations into 
which I had before so often fallen. Then did I begin to 
love the Lord, and I delighted to turn my mind inward, 
and diligently to wait upon Him, by the help of His Holy 
Spirit, by which I gradually grew in experience and 
knowledge of the things of God. Oh, then, how did I 
love to go to meetings 1 and I longed for the meeting days ; 
and when there, endeavored to have my mind inwardly ex- 
ercised towards the Lord, whom I loved with all the powers 
of my soul. Oh ! how near and dear to me were the faith- 
ful, ministering servants of the Lord, as also other faith- 
ful Friends, in whose company I greatly delighted, and 
loved to hear them speak of the things of God ; my mind 
being wholly taken off from the vanities, plays, and pas- 
times of the world ; all was nothing to me ! And when I 
could, I went into some secret place to wait upon the Lord, 
and there I poured out my soul unto Him, with overflow- 
ing tears of joy, that He had so mercifully wrought this 
great change in me; and I may say, with humble thanks- 
giving and praise to His holy name, that He was pleased 
to accept of my tender offering of a broken heart, in return- 
ing upon my soul at times the sweet incomes of His divine 
power and living presence, to the overcoming of my spirit 
with unutterable joy. . . . 

" The remembrance of such seasons is renewed within 
me at this time, for which my soul is melted into tender- 
ness, with humble thanksgiving and praise to His Holy 



JOSEPH PIKE. 69 

and Divine Majesty, that He has kept me alive in Spirit 
now to old age, to bear this testimony for Him from my 
own experience, that His holy truth waxes not old as 
doth a garment ; for although I am decayed in body, and 
through the weakness thereof, seem to be near the brink 
of the grave, yet to the praise of the Lord I can say, I am 
as strong in Him, and in the power of His might, and feel 
my spirit as zealous for His holy name and testimony, as 
at any time of my life ; for which, all that is within me 
magnifies and extols, even with my mouth in the dust, 
the holy and eternal name of the Lord of Heaven and 
earth, who liveth forever and ever ! 

" Before I had reached my fourteenth year, by the 
Lord's Holy Spirit working in me, I came to witness a 
state of purity, holiness, and innocency ; in which, not so 
much as a vain or foolish thought could arise in my mind, 
but the holy Light of Christ did presently let me see it, 
and judge it, so that I abhorred all evil thoughts, words, 
and actions, and loved truth and righteousness with all 
my soul. . . . 

" Notwithstanding I had by the power and spirit of the 
Lord, attained to a state of purity, yet, alas ! I lost it 
again, for want of true and diligent watchfulness to the 
Light, and closely following the leadings of it, and not 
through any gross evil I had committed. Between the 
age of fourteen and fifteen, I began to grow more negli- 
gent in waiting upon the Lord, and thence into more 
coldness of love to Him, and so by degrees to lose that 
tender frame of spirit I had formerly witnessed. And 
then the enemy of my soul tempted me with the pleasures 
and vanities of the world, so that my mind was allured 
and drawn towards them, and I did love and delight 
therein. Among the rest I was inclined to take pleasure 
in fine apparel, and the like, as I could get them, accord- 
ing to my station, of which I remember a particular in- 



70 JOSEPH PIKE. 

stance. Having got a pretty fine new coat, the spirit of 
pride arose in me, and passing along the street (I remem- 
ber the pkice), I thought myself, as the saying is, some- 
body ; but amidst these vain and foolish thoughts, I was 
in an instant struck as with an arrow from the Lord, and 
it swiftly passed through my mind after this manner; 
* Poor wretch ! was not Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven 
and earth, meek and low of heart, and His appearance 
mean on earth? He was not proud and high ; wilt thou, 
poor worm, be high and proud of thyself or clothes ? ' 
These thoughts so wounded my spirit that I went home 
very sorrowful and dejected ; but this went off in a little 
time, for the delights of the world began to take root in 
me, and my mind went after them, by which I was drawn 
away from the Lord. . . . 

" When about eighteen years old, the Lord was gra- 
ciously pleased to grant me a renewed visitation, not in 
that sudden and extraordinary manner as before, but in 
a more gradual way. He did arise, and give me a full 
and clear sight of my condition, and how I was estranged 
from Him in Spirit ; and that if I continued therein, I 
should grow harder and harder, and in the end, be undone 
forever. The sense of this brought me into great horror 
and distress, with bitter lamentation ; under which I lay 
some time, until the Lord was mercifully pleased to tender 
my spirit a little, and assist me to pray unto Him for a 
repentant heart, on account of my past disobedience, in 
so ungratefully departing from Him, which indeed lay as 
a mill-stone upon my soul, and brought me into sore agony 
and distress of spirit. I then sought to be alone in unseen 
places, where I often poured out my soul unto the Lord 
with many tears, begging for mercy and forgiveness; for 
I saw that I had come to a great loss, and that I must 
unlearn many things that I had learned in the night of 
my apostacy in spirit from Him, though not in principle 



JOSEPH PIKE. 71 



• 



or profession, during which the evil root and nature had 
grown strong in me. I also saw that nothing could de- 
stroy this but the axe, the sword, the hammer, and the fire 
of His Holy Spirit, and that I must be regenerated and 
born again, before I could ever attain to the condition I 
had lost, and which the light of Jesus let me see very 
clearly. . . . My distress was such, that if the Lord, in 
mercy, had not pitied me, and by granting a little hope 
and ease of spirit, helped me, I believe I should have 
sunk under it, my misery was so great ; for I was at times 
so overwhelmed with sorrow, that I was almost in despair 
of ever getting through my afflictions, fearing that I was 
utterly forsaken. 

" When I had continued in this state a considerable 
season, ready to faint in spirit, the Lord did, in His own 
time, not in mine, neither in so powerful a manner as I 
desired, again arise, with a little of the light of His coun- 
tenance for the ease of my distressed soul ; which yet con- 
tinued not long with me. Then did I fall again into the 
same misery. Thus was I afflicted and tossed as with a 
tempest, until I was almost worn out with sorrow; plunged 
into spiritual Jordan or judgment again and again, not 
only seven times, but more than seventy times seven. Oh, 
the wormwood and the gall that I was made to drink of 
in that day ! * my soul hath them still in remembrance 
and is humbled within me.' Yet, with thanksgiving and 
praise to the holy name of the Lord, He brought me 
through at last, and set my feet upon His rock. . . . 

" Though the excess of my troubles and exercises wore 
off in a few years, and I could, at times, when so enabled, 
sing in my soul, as well of the Lord's mercies as of His 
judgments ; yet I was not for many years, at seasons, with- 
out sore fights of affliction with the enemy of my soul, 
nor am I to this day ; for most certain it is, there is no 
state attainable on this side the grave, beyond that of 



72 JOSEPH PIKE. 

watchfulness. Our Lord said to His disciples, 'Watch 
and pray, lest ye fall into temptation.' I have compared 
the soul of man to an outward garden ; though it be 
cleansed from weeds, yet as it naturally produces them, 
if it be not watched and kept clean, the noxious and trou- 
blesome weeds will sprout again, and if suffered to grow, 
will choke the tender and good seed sown. Our hearts 
are * deceitful above all things,' and naturally prone to 
evil, and as the prophet adds, ' desperately wicked ; ' and 
though by the power and sword of the Lord's spirit, many 
things may be as it were destroyed and dead, yet if we do 
not diligently watch in the Light, the enemy will steal in 
again, and revive some of those thiugs which appeared to 
be eradicated, especially such as we are naturally most 
inclined to." 

In this instructive narrative, Joseph Pike speaks of 
being led astray in his very young years, by his fondness 
for youthful pastimes. The inference to be drawn from 
this is, not that playfulness in a child is wrong in itself, 
but that like all other things it must be kept within such 
limits as the Witness for truth in the heart shows to be 
needful for the peace and safety of each individual. The 
enemy of all good adapts his temptations to the varied 
circumstances of all. While he would lead the child to 
excessive indulgence in the playful sports adapted to 
youth, and thus prevent him from heeding the voice of 
the Spirit of Truth ; he endeavors to absorb the thoughts 
of older persons with the' business or pursuits of ordinary 
life. The path of safety is the same for all — obedience 
to those restraints and directions impressed on the mind 
by Divine Grace. 



SAMUEL BOWNAS. 73 



SAMUEL BOWNAS. 

Samuel Bownas was for more than fifty years an ac- 
tive laborer in the work of the Gospel, and in that service 
travelled in the continent of America, as well as in his 
native country, Great Britain. From a review of the 
dealings of the Almighty with him, which he wrote in 
advanced life, it will be seen that his prompt and full 
submission to 'the Heavenly visitation with which he was 
favored, was followed by an unusually speedy call to enter 
on the work of the ministry. He says : 

** I was born in Westmoreland, within the compass of 
Great Strickland Monthly Meeting, about the year 1676. 
My father died before I was one month old ; but I have 
been informed that he w^as very honest and zealous for 
Truth in his time, having been a considerable sufferer for 
the cause of religion, both in loss of goods and liberty, the 
meeting being kept in his house in some of the hottest 
times of persecution in King Charles the Second's reign. 
Being left so young, and my mother having but a scanty 
subsistence of about four pounds and ten shillings a year, 
with a dwelling for herself and two children, at about thir- 
teen years of age I was put to learn the trade of a black- 
smith, with an uncle, who used me unkindly. I was after- 
ward placed apprentice to a very honest Friend belonging 
to Brigflatts meeting, near Sedberg in Yorkshire, whose 
name was Samuel Parrott. All this time I had no taste 
of religion, but devoted myself to pleasure, as much as my 
circumstances would permit, though my mother had kept 
me very strictly while I was under her care. She would 
frequently in winter evenings take opportunities to tell 
me passages of dear father's sufferings, admonishing me 
BO to live, that I might be worthy to bear the name of so 
good a man's son, and not bring a reproach on myself and 
7 



74 SAMUEL BOWNAS. 

parents : also putting me in mind, that if she should be 
taken away, I should greatly miss her both for advice and 
other ways to assist me; and advised me to fear the Lord 
now in my youth, that I might be favored with His bless- 
ing. These admonitions at times brought me into great 
tenderness, being afraid she would die before I was capa- 
ble to live in the world ; and she took me frequently to 
meetings with her, where she often had some words in 
testimony. Persecution being still very hot, and Friends 
locked out of their house at Strickland, we met at the door, 
and I remember when I was a child, and went to meet- 
ing with my mother, the informers came twice ; the first 
time the meeting had been over about half an hour, the 
second time not quite so long, so that we escaped their 
hands both times. Many Friends were in prison at Ap- 
pleby for attending that meeting, whom my dear mother 
went to visit, taking me along w^ith her, and we had a meet- 
ing with the prisoners, several Friends from other places 
being likewise there by appointment. I observed, theugh 
very young, how tender and broken they were ; and I was 
very inquisitive of my mother, why they cried so much, 
and thee too, said I, why did thee ? She told me that I 
could not understand the reason of it then, but when I 
grew up more to man's estate I might. 

" To return to my apprenticeship ; I had a very kind, 
loving master and mistress, but who had little considera- 
tion about religion, nor any taste thereof. On First-days 
I frequented meetings, and the greater part of my time I 
slept, but took no account of preaching, nor received any 
other benefit, than that being there kept me out of bad com- 
pany, which indeed is a very great service to youth. I took 
much liberty in discourse, and was taken notice of, as a 
witty, sensible young man : but often on my bed I reflected 
on my way of life with sorrow, yet frequently fell into the 
game way again. I was never given to swearing, nor to 



SAMUEL BOWNAS. 75 

any very gross vice, but what I gave way to most, was 
jesting, and turns of wit to provoke mirth, which gave me 
often, after it was over, a heavy heart. Thus I went on 
for nearly three years ; but one First-day, being at meet- 
ing, a young woman, named Anne Wilson was there and 
preached. She was very zealous, and I fixing my eye 
upon her, she, with a great zeal, pointed her finger at me, 
uttering these words with much power : * A traditional 
Quaker, thou comest to meeting as thou went from it the 
last time, and goest from it as thou came to it, but art no 
better for thy coming ; what wilt thou do in the end ? * 
This was so suited to my condition, that, like Saul, I was 
smitten to the ground, but turning my thoughts inward, 
in secret I cried. Lord, what shall I do to help it? And 
a voice as it were spoke in my heart, saying. Look unto 
me, and I will help thee ; and I found much comfort, 
which made me shed abundance of tears. Then I remem- 
bered what my mother told me some years before, that 
when I grew up more to man's estate, I should know the 
reason of that tenderness and weeping, which I now did 
to purpose. I went home with a heavy heart, and could 
neither eat nor sleep as I used to do, but my work never 
succeeded better in my hands than it did at this time, nor 
was my mind ever less in it. My conduct, as well as 
countenance, was much altered, so that several in the 
family were fearful that I should fall into a kind of 
melancholy ; but I longed for the meeting-day and thought 
it a very long week. When the time of meeting came, 
my mind was soon fixed and staid upon God, and I found 
an uncommon enjoyment that gave me great satisfaction, 
my understanding being opened, and all the faculties of 
my mind so quick, that I seemed another man. A divine 
and spiritual sweetness abiding with me night and day, 
for some time, I began to see and understand the Scrip- 
tures, and the nature of preaching the doctrine of the 



76 SAMUEL BOWNAS. 

gospel in the power and spirit, plainly seeing the differ- 
ence, between a teacher of the letter and of the spirit, 
which till then I was wholly ignorant of, not having, before 
that, the least degree that I could perceive of Divine un- 
derstanding. But upon looking back and considering 
what I had heard such and such Friends preach, which 
at that time I did not understand, I now understood it 
clearly, which was a plain demonstration to me, that all 
saving knowledge is from Divine light, which we cannot 
comprehend, until we are assisted so to do by a visitation 
from Heaven. 

" Now the Scriptures and ministry, from the openings 
of the Spirit, seemed so clear and plain to my understand- 
ing, that I wondered anybody remained unconvinced, sup- 
posing them to see the truths of the gospel in the same 
light that I did. That saying of the apostle, wherein he 
asserts his knowledge of the Son of God being come, to 
be, by * receiving an understanding from Him,' was clearly 
discovered to me, so that I plainly saw a distinction between 
the children of light, and the children of this world — the 
spiritual and the natural man ; and that the natural man 
could not receive the things of the Spirit of God, being 
foolishness to him ; he cannot know thejpti, because they 
are known ' only by the Spirit,' as the apostle asserts ; 
and I found myself much improved in Divine wisdom and 
saving knowledge. 

"As I was going to meeting, walking alone, it came 
very livingly into my mind, that if I was but faithful and 
obedient to the heavenly vision, I should soon be qualified 
to teach others, and more especially, as I saw by experi- 
ence wherein my shortness had been, in being contented 
and easy with a form of truth and religion, which I had 
only by education, being brought up in plainness of both 
habit and speech ; but all this, though very good in its 
place, did not make me a true Christian; I was but a 



SAMUEL BOWNAS. 77 

traditional Quaker, and that by education only, and not 
from the Scriptures, because they were a book sealed to 
me. And I now saw plainly, that education, though 
ever so carefully administered, would not do the work ; 
although a pious education ought by no means to be 
neglected, but all parents and guardians ought to be 
stirred up to their duty in that respect ; yet w^e must con- 
sider, that it is not in the power of parents, or the most 
pious tutors, to confer grace, which is the gift of God 
alone ; nor can any come into the true fold but by this 
door, as said our Saviour concerning himself. It plainly 
appeared to me, there was no other way but this, viz., by 
the Spirit of Christ alone, to attain to true faith, which 
works by love, and gives victory over our infirmities and 
evil deeds, working such a change in us, that we can in 
truth, from experience, say, * we are born from above ; ' 
and by virtue of that birth only, is the true knowledge of 
the kingdom and the things of God attained, and by no 
other way or means, although ever so well contrived by 
human art. Being experimentally sensible of this change 
wrought in my mind, it looked the more likely that I 
might, in time, be qualified to speak to others of my own 
experience of the operation of the Spirit in my mind, not 
thinking the time so near at hand, as it appeared when I 
came to the meeting; for I had not sat long therein, when 
a great weight fell upon me, with some words to speak ; 
but I considered, being willing to be my own carver, that 
it was too soon to undertake such a task, being but an in- 
fant in religion; not remembering the small time between 
Paul's conversion and his preaching the gospel. My former 
conduct with my companions, many of whom were in the 
meeting at the same time, also stood much in my way, for 
my reformation was but three weeks old that very day, so 
that I concluded, so sudden a change would hardly be 
borne. I did not at that time, for these reasons, give up, 
7^ 



78 SAMUEL BOWKAS. 

and tlie burthen was taken from me. But after meeting 
it came upon me again with double weight, and affected 
me so very greatly, that I was much alone, and my coun- 
tenance so altered with weeping, that my master took 
occasion to inquire how it was with me. I gave him as 
plain an account as I was capable of, with which he was 
much affected, and broken into tears. I feared that I had 
by disobedience so much offended, that I should be cast 
off forever; but with exhortations from Scripture and 
otherwise, he endeavored to pacify me, not doubting but 
that I should again have the like offer made me, putting 
me in mind of Gideon's fleece, etc. 

" When next meeting-day came, I went in great weak- 
ness and fear, and would rather have gone elsewhere than 
to meeting. Sometime after I was in the meeting, I felt 
the same concern as before, and sat under the weight of 
it, till the meeting was almost over, and then hardly knew 
how I got upon my feet, but did, and broke out with a 
loud voice in these words, * Fear not them which kill the 
body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear 
Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. 
I say fear you Him who will terribly shake the earth, 
that all which is movable may be shaken and removed 
out of the way, that that which is unmovable may stand.' 
This was all I had to say at that time. But oh ! the joy 
and sweetness I felt afterward, I cannot express, and 
the pleasure of my mind appeared in my countenance, so 
that my master took notice of it, and spoke so feelingly as 
plainly demonstrated he was a partaker with me of the 
same rejoicing." 

Though Samuel Bownas was thus early brought for- 
ward in public religious labor, yet he experienced a share 
of those trials and exercises of spirit which always attend 
the progress of the true followers of a crucified Saviour. 
Thus soon after his apprenticeship had expired he felt a 



SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 79 

concern to visit Scotland. In this journey, he says, " The 
poverty of my spirit was so exceedingly great and bitter, 
that I could scarcely bear it, but cried out aloud, which 
so surprised my companion, that being on foot, he feared 
it would be too hard for me, for I complained that I was 
deceived or mistaken ; because while I was in my master's 
work, I rarely by night or day was without some degree 
of Divine virtue on my mind, but now I could feel nothing 
but the bitterness of death and darkness ; all comfort was 
hid from me for a time, and I was baptized into death in- 
deed." After this trial of his faith had passed over, he thus 
speaks of this proving season, and his remarks may be an 
encouragement to others who are similarly proved : " The 
Lord let me see His kindness to lead me through that 
state of poverty, which was of great service to qualify me 
to speak to others in the like condition, and that trials of 
sundry kinds were for my improvement and good, tending 
to my establishment in the true root of a Divine and 
spiritual ministry ; and the doctrine of our Saviour and 
His apostle did much comfort me." 

Through various exercises and conflicts, Samuel Bow- 
nas was enabled to pursue the Christian journey to the 
end of the race. His friends have left on record this tes- 
timony to his character. " His ministry was lively and 
powerful to the last, to the edification aoid comfort of those 
who were favored with it. His removal was a great loss 
to Friends in these parts, but we have reason to believe 
it was his great gain." 



SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 

Samuel Fothergill was one of the most eminent 
among the ministers of the Society of Friends, about the 
middle of last century. He was a native of Yorkshire, 



80 SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 

England, and was born in the year 1715. About the age 
of seventeen, he was placed apprentice, as a shopkeeper, 
with a Friend at Stockport. " He was endowed," says 
his biographer, " with considerable talents ; he had a 
strong mind, and was of an active, lively, and even volatile 
disposition." These qualities caused his company to be 
much sought after, and early introduced him into society 
at Stockport, of an injurious and hurtful character, cal- 
culated to dissipate and eradicate those lessons of piety and 
virtue which his worthy father had earnestly labored to 
impress upon the minds of all his children. 

" Yielding to the temptations to which he was thus ex- 
posed, Samuel gave way to the indulgence of his evil 
passions, and, with his new companions, abandoned him- 
self to the pursuit of folly and dissipation." Of his own 
condition at that time, he thus speaks : — "I wandered far 
from the garden inclosed, and laid myself open to the 
enemy of my soul : I kept the worst company, and sub- 
jected myself to almost every temptation, broke through 
the fence of the sacred inclosure, and trampled it under 
my feet; and when, for a time, I found the least inclina- 
tion to do good, evil was present with me, and I went on 
from one degree of iniquity to another. My wickedness 
so far increased with my diligence, that at length, alas ! I 
beheld the strong wall broken down, the garden wall de- 
stroyed, the mound left defenceless, and no hope left of 
returning peace to my afflicted soul. ... I strayed to 
that degree, that my life became a burden to me, and I 
wished that I had never been born." 

Yet he was not utterly cast off nor forsaken even in the 
midst of this sinful career. Many were the strivings of 
the Spirit of Truth with his soul, and frequent the visita- 
tions of Divine grace. Many were the deep trials and 
conflicts through which he passed, alternately yielding and 
resisting, until at length his spiritual state and his danger 



SAMUEL FOTHEEGILL. 81 

were very forcibly brought before him, attended by a deep 
persuasion that these offers of mercy would be no more 
renewed, and that if he now any longer resisted, the day 
of his visitation would be over, and his destruction cer- 
tain and inevitable. So powerful was the impression, that 
it brought him into great trouble and distress, and caused 
renewed and very earnest prayers for help and strength ; 
he cried mightily for deliverance. 

His father, John Fothergill, was about to embark for 
a religious visit in America. The conduct of his son 
Samuel had been as wormwood and gall, bitter indeed to 
his soul. Memorable and affecting was their last inter- 
view. After imparting to his son deep and impressive 
counsel, he took his leave in these words : "And now, son 
Samuel, farewell, farewell — and unless it be as a changed 
man, I cannot say that I have any wish ever to see thee 
again." 

These parting expressions, this powerful appeal from a 
father, whom, notwithstanding his disobedience, he still 
tenderly loved, uttered during what might prove to be the 
last time they should meet in this life, together with the 
awful solemnity and deep feeling with which they were 
accompanied, produced a strong impression upon Samuel 
Fothergill ; they remained as if engraven upon his heart, 
and assisted to confirm and strengthen him in the path of 
repentance and conversion upon which he had entered. 

Yielding to the powerful convictions of Divine grace, 
lie came to feel the terrors of the Lord for sin, and was 
made willing to abide under His righteous judgment, be- 
cause he had sinned, and so was brought into a state of 
deep repentance ; and as a brand plucked out of the burn- 
ing, and as one awakened from the sleep of death, in due 
time he witnessed a deliverance from the bondage of cor- 
ruption, and a being created anew unto holiness, the end 
whereof is eterital life, through. Jesus Christ our Lord. 

F 



82 SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 

In a letter to his sister dated 2d mo. 9th, 1737, he re- 
lates his experience as follows : 

" I found upon examining my state, that I was on the 
very brink of destruction and ruin, and it pleased the 
Lord to kindle in my sonl earnest desires to be delivered 
fr.^m my dreadful condition, which the Lord in mercy 
showed to me as it really was; thereby bringing me into 
deep and unutterable anxiety of soul. Oh, the anguish of 
that day ; the weight of sorrow I daily labored under was 
more than I can express, or any, not acquainted with the 
operation of the Spirit of judgment and of burning, can 
conceive. 

" But through infinite mercy I can now say with a 
humbly thankful heart, it was a repentance never to be 
repented of; for notwithstanding my open rebellion and 
defiance to the tenderly striving Spirit of grace, that long 
strove with me in order for my recovery, I have in a 
degree witnessed favor from the Almighty, and the knowl- 
edge of acceptance with Him, which is more to me than 
anything else. 

" Many yet continue to be the deep and humbling times 
I go through ; many the anxieties of soul I have to pass 
under; yet the Lord in mercy is at times helping me over 
everything that would hinder my spiritual progress, and 
giving to find times of refreshment in His Divine presence." 

In one of S. Fothergill's public discourses, delivered 
more than thirty years after the time of his reformation ; 
and when long experience in the work of Grace, and ex- 
tended opportunities of observing its operations among 
men, had peculiarly qualified him for forming a correct 
judgment in spiritual things, he thus refers to his own 
exercises, and the manner in which he was brought out 
of the darkness of sin into the light of Christ : 

" Opinion resembles faith so much, that the eye had 
need be opened to discern the difierence, yet a great one 



SAMUEL^ FOTHEEGILL. 83 

there is ; many have strong opinions concerning the work 
of religion ; some have looked upon it as instantaneous, 
some otherwise. I confess, with respect to that instan- 
taneous work, I have not so learned Christ ; far be it from 
me to judge another man's servant, but I have not so 
learned Christ, as to know that to be an instantaneous, but 
a gradual work. Some think there is a sudden death to 
sin, and a new birth to righteousness, in a moment. I 
have not traced the conduct of people professing the 
Christian religion with an uncharitable eye ; but I have 
often observed that instantaneous work to be of a short- 
lived continuance ; have seen some recur back again to 
their sins, and their latter end has been worse than the 
beginning. When God said, let there be light, there was 
light, a successsion of days and nights, the beauties of 
creation were gradually brought forth, till man was made 
in God's image. 

"I have not been destitute of some degree of religious 
experience; the praise I dedicate to God, the fruits to 
your service. Religion has wore this aspect with me ; 
it has been a gradual work, a gradual advancement from 
faith to faith ; but when people are enriched with unfelt 
truths, they call a strong persuasion of mind, faith, when 
it is only opinion. Faith is promotive of redemption, the 
saint's victory ; this faith that works by love, subverts 
the strongholds of Satan, restores people to a state of ac- 
ceptance with God, impressing the features of the King 
of Heaven upon all their actions : but this opinion, this 
mistaken opinion, would pass by redemption from all 
iniquity ; the leaven of the kingdom ; would lead to a 
variety of actions, abundance of words and professions, 
and set the mind afloat above that sacred leaven, that 
unspeakable gift which cannot be fully uttered. The 
Lord preserve us from this dangerous mistake." 

When intelligence of Samuel's reformation reached his 



84 SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 

father, in America, his heart was filled with gratitude, 
though hope was mingled with fear, as is shown in a letter 
to his son Joseph, which says : 

" What I hear of and from Samuel, is as comfortable 
as can be expected to an affectionate and heretofore deeply 
afflicted father. Yet I rejoice not without awe and fear, 
though with lively hope, as he keeps duly mindful of his 
un worthiness, and under watchful fear lest anything that 
is for judgment should escape." 

John Fothergill was absent in America nearly two 
years, and, it is said, his first interview with Samuel after 
his return was at York Quarterly Meeting. According 
to the account that has been handed down, John did not 
arrive at York until the morning of the day of the meet- 
ing, and it was late when he entered the meeting-house. 
After a short period of silence, he stood up, and appeared 
in testimony ; but after he had proceeded a short time he 
stopped, and informed the meeting that his way was 
closed ; that what he had before him was taken away, 
and was, he believed, given to another. He resumed his 
seat, and another Friend immediately rose, and taking up 
the subject, enlarged upon it in a weighty and impressive 
testimony, delivered with great power. It is added, that 
at the close of the meeting, John Fothergill inquired who 
the Friend was that had been so remarkably engaged 
amongst them, and was informed that it was his own son 
Samuel, 

As a minister of the Gospel, Samuel Fothergill labored 
extensively in Great Britain and on the continent of 
America; and his services were eminently attended with 
Divine power and authority. For some time before his 
decease, his health had been much impaired ; and towards 
the close symptoms of confirmed dropsy appeared — an 
evidence that his constitution was nearly worn out. About 
two weeks before his death, he addressed a farewell letter 



SAMUEL FOTHERGILL. 85 

to his sister and surviving brother, in which he thus sweetly 
refers to the precious hope with which he was favored : 

"Although my house has not been so with God as that 
of some others who have walked with greater care from 
earliest youth with Him; yet now, though in great bodily 
weakness. His candle shines around mine head, and at 
times an unshaken hope that the God of our fathers will 
condescend in the multitude of His mercies, to receive me 
into His rest, and that I shall not die as the fool dieth : 
and this abundantly supports and enables me to give 
what I think is my dying testimony : That He is good, 
and His mercy endureth forever." 

In a solemn and affecting interview with some of hia 
relatives, who were about to set out to attend the Yearly 
Meeting in London, he made use of the following expres- 
sions : 

" Though painful my nights, and wearisome my days 
yet I am preserved in patience and resignation. Death 
has no terrors, nor will the grave have any victory ! My 
soul triumphs over death, hell, and the grave. 

" The Lord knows best what is best for us ; I am con- 
tent and resigned to His will. I feel the foretaste of the 
joy that is to come ; and who would wish to change such 
a state of mind. I should be glad if an easy channel 
could be found to inform the Yearly Meeting, that as I 
have lived, so I shall close, with the most unshaken assur- 
ance that we have not followed cunningly devised fables, 
but the pure, living, eternal substance. 

" If I be now removed out of the church militant, where 
I have endeavored in some measure to fill up my duty, I 
have an evidence that I shall gain an admittance into His 
gloHous church triumphant, far above the heavens." 

Thus sustained by an unwavering faith in the goodness 
of the Lord, Samuel Fothergill died on the 15th of the 
6th mo., 1772, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. 
8 



86 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 



JOHN CHURCHMAN. 



John Churchman was born at Nottingham, in Penn- 
sylvania, in 1705. He has left an account of his travels 
towards the Spiritual Canaan, in which he says: 

" I early felt reproof for bad words and actions, yet 
knew not whence it came, until about the age of eight 
years, as I sat in a small meeting, the Lord by His heav- 
enly love and goodness, overcame and tendered my heart, 
and by His glorious light discovered to me the knowledge 
of himself. I saw myself, and what I had been doing, 
and what it was which had reproved me for evil, . . . 
yet blessed forever be the name of the Lord ! in His in- 
finite mercy and goodness He clearly informed me, that 
if I would mind the discoveries of His pure light for the 
future, what I had done in the time of my ignorance. He 
would w^ink at and forgive ; and the stream of love which 
filled my heart with solid joy at that time, and lasted for 
many days, is beyond all expression. 

" Notwithstanding I had been favored as before men- 
tioned, yet as I grew in years, I was much given to play, 
and began to delight again in several things, for which I 
had before been reproved, and by this Divine witness in 
my mind was still brought under judgment for; but hav- 
ing lost my innocence, I endeavored, through fear to fly 
from the voice of the Holy Spirit in my own heart. The 
enemy persuaded me, that I could never be restored to 
my former state, because I had sinned against so great 
knowledge, or if I was, that the judgment through which 
I must pass, would be intolerable, so that I had better be 
cheerful, and take my ease and delight. But my gracious 
Lord still favored me with conviction, His Spirit bearing 
witness against me. By outward correction with sickness, 
and inward judgment, He was pleased to draw me to 



JOHN CHURCHMAN. 87 

himself, which caused me to renew my covenant with 
Him, and I hoped never more to stray from Him to fol- 
low lying vanities, whose sweets I had experienced to be 
exceeding bitterness in the end. 

"I retained my care and circumspection for some time; 
but through un watchfulness and a desire for play, which 
led into lightness and forgetful ness, I lost this state be- 
fore I was twelve years of age ; and though the Lord was 
near, and followed me by His reproof, in order to bring 
me under judgment, I fled from it as much as I could. 
I let in a belief, that as I had been favored to taste in so 
wonderful a manner, * of the good word of life, and pow- 
ers of the world to come,' and had so shamefully fallen 
away, there remained for me no more sacrifice for sin ; 
but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indigna- 
tion, which, as I thought, burned in me to that degree 
that I was afraid to be alone. I was not willing that good 
Friends should take notice of me, or look me steadily in 
the face ; for I thought they would discern my wickedness, 
and it would be a trouble to them ; or their reproving me 
would add to my distress. 

During this time I was diligent in attending meetings, 
hoping at seasons that the Lord would condescend once 
more to visit me ; for a saying of an eminently pious man 
was revived in my.remembrance, 'That if there remained 
a desire in the heart after redemption, as it was kept to, 
the Lord would again assuredly visit such in His own 
time.' I was therefore fearful of neglecting meetings, lest 
I might miss of the good intended for me; yet the subtle 
working of the power of darkness was very great, suggest- 
ing to me that all things came by nature, and that there 
was no God, no heaven, no devil, no punishment for evil, 
religion a jest, and painful care about futurity a silly 
whim, propagated to deprive people of pleasure. But, 
blessed be the Lord ! He preserved me from this snare ; 



88 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 

for whilst I felt His judgments for sin, I believed in His 
being and holiness ; and I am indeed fully of the mind, 
that no man can be an atheist before he acts contrary to 
knowledge, when, to allay the horror and anguish of mind 
he feels for the commission of sin, he closes in with this 
temptation. 

" In this state I continued until I was about nineteen 
years of age, and as I was one day walking to meeting, 
thinking on my forlorn condition, and remembering the 
bread in my Heavenly Father's house, of which I had 
partaken when I was a dutiful child, and that by stray- 
ing from Him, and spending my portion, I had been eight 
years in grievous want, I inwardly cried, if thou art 
pleased again to visit me, I beseech thee, O Lord, visit my 
body with sickness, or pain, or whatever thou may please, 
so that the will of the old man may be slain, and every 
thing in me that thy controversy is against, that I may 
be made a sanctified vessel by thy power. 

"I spent nearly a year in the condition above men- 
tioned ; often out of hope of ever attaining to the state I 
had witnessed when very young ; but in the fall of the 
year after I had arrived to the age of twenty years, it 
pleased the Lord to remember me, and by His righteous 
judgments mixed with unspeakable mercies, to make way 
for my deliverance. I was visited with a sore fit of sick- 
ness, which in a tew days so fully awakened me, that I 
had no hope of being again entrusted with health. My 
misspent time, and all my transgressions were brought to 
my remembrance, and heavy judgment was upon me for 
them. I was met with in this narrow path, and could no 
longer fly from God and His Spirit in my conscience. I 
thought I had, as it were, heard an act of grace and free 
pardon repeatedly proclaimed, if I would return and live 
uprightly for the future ; but in the time of such visita- 
tions, I concluded it was only to bring me under judg- 



JOHN CHURCHMAN. 89 

ment and to take me from my pleasure, for that my 
offences would never be pardoned, and so I had withstood 
or neglected those visitations. I now saw clearly, that 
herein I had followed the lying suggestions of Satan, my 
enemy. At this time my old will in the fallen nature 
gave up its life, and I cried, * I am not worthy to live or 
enjoy thy favor, yet, O Lord ! if thou wilt be pleased to 
look on me with an eye of pity, do what thou wilt with 
me, magnify thy own name, prepare me by thy judgments 
and power that thy mercy may be shown in and by me, 
whether thou cut the thread of my life, or shall grant me 
more days, which is only in thy power.' My heart was 
made exceedingly tender, I wept much, and an evidence 
was given me, that the Lord had heard my cry, and in 
mercy looked down on me from His holy habitation, and 
a willing heart was given me, and patience to bear His 
chastisements and the working of His eternal Word, which 
created all things at the beginning, and by which only 
poor fallen man is created anew in the heavenly image, 
and prepared to praise Him with acceptance, who lives 
forever and ever. 

" Whilst I lay in this condition I said little or nothing, 
but was quite sensible, yet exceedingly weakened, having 
for about twenty-four hours felt more inward and inex- 
pressible anguish, than outward pain. Toward the morn- 
ing of the fifth day and night of my illness I felt the in- 
comes and owning of Divine love in a greater degree than 
ever ; for the prospect I had of so great forgiveness made 
me love the more, for love is ever reciprocal. I saw the 
morning light, and thought all things looked new and 
sweet. 

" It pleased the Lord to restore me, so that I recovered 
my usual strength, and was frequently humbled under a 
sense of the tender dealings of a merciful God, whose 
goodness and owning love I felt to be very near. I then 



90 JOHN CHURCHMAN. 

loved retirement and to feel after the incomes of life, and 
was often fearful lest I should again fall away. 

" It is a great favor that the Lord is pleased to cover 
His children with His pure fear, and to array their souls 
with the garment of humility, that they may stand in His 
presence with acceptance. In a degree of reverent thank- 
fulness, I bless the name of the Lord through His beloved 
Son, that according to my measure I knew what I now 
write ; it was a time of growing with me, I rarely passed 
a day without feeling the incomes of Divine life, and was 
favored strongly to desire the sincere milk of the holy 
Word, that in humility I might thereby grow in sub- 
stance. But afterwards I was left many days together, 
w^ithout inward refreshment, and was ready to fear I had 
offended my gracious Redeemer; and being thoughtful 
and inwardly engaged to know the cause, I had to consider 
that children, though they may be thriving, and darlings of 
their natural parents, are not fit for much business until 
they are weaned ; and although they grow finely, they 
are gradually taught to wait the appointed time between 
meals, before they have much care of their father's busi- 
ness ; and are further prepared, so as to miss a set meal, 
or be a longer time without outward food, before they are 
fit for a journey. With these thoughts a hope began to 
revive in me, that I was not forsaken, of which indeed, as 
I kept patient, I was at times abundantly sensible, even 
those times which are in the Lord's hand ; for His children 
experience that the times of refreshment come from Him, 
who, when He has exercised and proved them, in His 
infinite kindness is pleased to cause them to sit down, and 
condescends himself to serve them. Blessed forever be 
the name of the Lord who knows how to prepare His 
soldiers to remain faithful, and endure with patience what 
the natural man would count hardness ! " 

John Churchman travelled extensively as a minister 



WILLIAM SAVERY. 91 

of the Gospel, on the continent of America and in Eng- 
land, where he spent several years in this service. He 
was a deeply experienced servant of the Lord, and the 
Journal of his life and labors, which he has left behind 
him, is one of uncommon value. In his last illness he 
passed through a season of much poverty of spirit, and 
absence of any sensible feeling of Divine favor. This has 
been the experience of many faithful servants, who yet 
could testify as John Churchman did : " IVfy present bap- 
tism of affliction hath tended to the further refinement of 
my nature, and to bring me more perfectly into the image 
of my Master." This was followed by a return of heav- 
enly peace and joy, so that many times a day he w^ould 
break forth into a kind of melody with his voice, without 
uttering words, which, as he sometimes intimated, was an 
involuntary aspiration of his soul in praise to the Lord, 
who had again been pleased to shine forth in brightness 
after many days of poverty and deep baptism. 

On the day of his death, he thus expressed himself, "I 
am much refreshed w^ith my Master's sweet air; I feel 
more life, more light, more love and sweetness than ever 
before," and often mentioned the Divine refreshment and 
comfort he felt flowing like a pure stream to his inward 
man. 

His death occurred in the year 1775. 



WILLIAM SAYERT. 

William Savery was a valuable minister in the Soci- 
ety of Friends. He was born in Philadelphia in the year 
1750, and died there in 1804. In the exercise of his gift 
as a Gospel minister, he travelled in different parts of this 
continent and in England and Germany. His biographer, 



92 WILLIAM SAVERY. 

who was intimately acquainted with him, says, that his 
ministry was " accompanied with a fervent engagement 
that his audience might be brought to a heartfelt experi- 
ence of the unspeakable love of God, in sending His dear 
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners; 
of the efficacy of His propitiatory sacrifice, and the sanctify- 
ing power of His Holy Spirit, who hath by His own blood 
obtained eternal redemption for all that come unto Him 
in true faith ; at times declaring, with much solemnity 
and reverence, that he would rather lose all he had in 
the world, than be robbed of his faith in the divinity of 
Christ." 

• In his memoranda, William Savery thus speaks of the 
dealings of the Almighty with him in his younger years : 

" I may acknowledge, that notwithstanding my revolt 
and turning aside from the paths of purity and peace, the 
Lord has been graciously near me all my life long, and 
has watched over me as a tender Father for good, smitten 
me by His Spirit when I have been rebelling against His 
holy law written in my heart, making merry over the 
Divine witness there ; and has reached to me and tendered 
me in the midst of mirth and jollity. He often followed 
me to my chamber, and upon my pillow has drawn tears 
of sorrow and contrition from me, when none have been 
privy to it but His all-seeing eye : so that my days of joy 
and laughter have often produced nights of sorrow and 
weeping. Still I continued sinning and repenting, and 
turning the Grape of God into wantonness for a number 
of years, being at times favored to see in part the beauty 
there is in holiness, but fearful of incurring the scoff and 
scorn of the world's deluded votaries should I turn my 
back upon it." 

In the year 1778, attending a meeting at Merion, held 
after an interment, he was deeply impressed with serious 
thoughtfulness. Being married that year, he settled in 



WILLIAM SAVERY. 93 

business in Philadelphia. The state of his mind about 
this time is thus described : 

" I had been employed in bringing myself to a more 
circumspect life, being pretty careful in my conduct and 
conversation, and just in my dealings among men, and 
was willing to believe I had attained to great matters, 
and that I might now take up my rest ; for by my own 
strength, abilities, and contrivance, I could not only keep 
up a fair upright character among men, and make my 
life happy and myself respected ; but also (oh, the deceit- 
ful workings of Satan ! oh, the mystery of iniquity!) that 
it would at the close of time here, gain me an inheritance 
in the regions of purity and peace, among all those that 
are sanctified. But, how can I suflScieritly adore my great 
and good Master, for His continued regard and care over 
me, in that He did not suflTer me to remain long in this 
state of delusion and error. He disturbed my false rest, 
and made me at times exceedingly uneasy with it, and 
gave me at length to see that notwithstanding my regu- 
larity of behavior and all my boasted attainments, I fell 
far short of that purity, which all the vessels in the Lord's 
house must come to ; that I was yet under the law which 
cannot make the comers thereto perfect, not having passed 
under the flaming sword, nor felt the day of the Lord to 
be come which burns as an oven. 

" This brought great distress and anxiety of mind over 
me, and sometimes I was ready to doubt the truth of these 
Divine revelations ; and was exceedingly desirous to find, 
if possible, an easier way to peace and happiness, than by 
submitting myself to the cross, of which I had as yet ex- 
perienced but little. I was much tossed and distressed, 
as one who was in a dark and howling wilderness, where 
I could see no way out. But at length the Lord, who 
indeed watched over me continually for good, blessed and 
praised forever be His name, brought me into some degree 



94 WILLIAM SAVEKY. 

of composure. My eyes became more clearly opened to 
discern where I was, and that all the righteousness of my 
own putting on was as filthy rags, of which I must be 
stripped, before I could experience a putting on of that 
purity and righteousness, which is the fine linen of the 
saints. In great, distress and anxiety I saw nothing for 
me to lean upon, but to dwell alone and keep my eye 
open and my spiritual ear attentive to Him who is the 
unchangeable High Priest of His people, and with whom 
are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, who knows 
the states of all His children, and when and where He 
leads them, graciously affords ability to follow, to the 
praise of His ever adorable name. 

" It pleased Him* to lead me as into the wilderness, and 
to give me a sight of my former disobedience and folly. 
Oh ! the bitterness and distress that covered me when I 
was alone or in meetings. I experienced but few pleas- 
ant draughts of His love, my meat was gall and worm- 
wood, and my drink of the bitter waters of Marah. Thus 
I continued, but was still preserved desirous to know the 
Master's will, and in measure made willing to obey, though 
under the cross ; yet the way to the kingdom was for some 
months much darkened, and a sense of my sinful conduct 
often brought me almost to despair of ever finding for- 
giveness with an offended God. 

" Oh ! these were times of baptism never to be for- 
gotten in mutability. One evening, sitting in my house 
alone, great horror and trouble seized me — I wept aloud, 
and after a short time went to bed ; but my distress was 
so great, that it almost overcame me, and I thought I 
tasted of the misery of fallen spirits. Not being able to 
contain myself, I arose and walked the room. My spirits 
at length being nearly exhausted, I threw myself on the 
bed again, but had not lain long, before I grew cold like 
one near death, a clammy sweat covered me, and I was to 



WILLIAM SAYERY. 95 

appearance stupid. In this state I was, through adorable 
mercy, released from the horror that before surrounded 
me, and was comforted with a sight and feeling of a state 
of inexpressible happiness and joy ; and when so far come 
to myself as to have utterance given me, I cried aloud on 
this wise, Oh ! now I know that my Redeemer liveth. 

" Oh ! the sweetness I then felt, in being favored with 
such an evidence of the goodness and mercy of God : it far 
surpassed everything I had ever before experienced. Tears 
of joy ran freely down my cheeks, insomuch that I could 
not restrain them nor scarcely utter a word for a considera- 
ble time ; and my dear partner, who shared with me in 
my affliction, was also made a partaker with me in my 
exceeding great joy. Blessed forever be the name of the 
Lord, though He sees meet for our refinement to try us 
even to an hair's breadth, yet in our utmost extremity 
His all-powerful arm is made bare for our deliverance." 

His first appearance as a minister was about the year 
1779; and during the remaining twenty-five years of his 
life, he was extensively engaged in Gospel service. His 
death occurred in 1804. During his sickness he was sup- 
ported in resignation to the Divine will, and notwithstand- 
ing his abundant labors in the service of his Lord and 
Master, was led to take a very humbling view of himself, 
as an unprofitable servant, having nothing to depend on 
but the long-sufiering and goodness of God — observing, 
" I thought I was once strong for the work, but now I am 
a child brought back to my horn-book, and have nothing 
to trust to but the mercy of God through Christ my Sa- 
viour." He had been remarkable for his firm and un- 
shaken belief in the divinity of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, in His propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of 
the world, and in all His glorious offices for the salva- 
tion of mankind, being often fervently engaged in setting 
forth these blessed Gospel doctrines, and enforcing them 



96 MARY DUDLEY. 

on his hearers; and in the solemn moments of disease 
and death, his reverent dependence and hope in his Sa- 
viour did not fail him, but proved as an anchor to his 
soul. A short time before his death, under a sense and 
feeling immediately imparted, he expressed " glory to 
God,'' and continued in great composure of mind, until 
the 19th day of the Sixth month, 1804, when he calmly 
resigned his spirit into the hands of Him who gave it. 



MARY DUDLEY. 



Mary Dudley was born in the city of Bristol, England, 
on the 8th of Sixth month, 1750. Her death occurred in 
1823. During much of her life, she was engaged as a 
minister of the Gospel, in seeking to promote the spread 
of the Redeemer's kingdom among men ; and in this ser- 
vice travelled on the Continent of Europe, as well as more 
extensively in different parts of Great Britain. In some 
memoranda of her Christian experience, which were pub- 
lished by her daughter Elizabeth, she gives an instructive 
account of the work of Grace on her heart. In these, she 
says: 

" I am drawn to commemorate the gracious dealings of 
a merciful Father and Creator in early visiting, my mind, 
which, though ignorant of the nature of deep religious feel- 
ings, was certainly often impressed with them in the morn- 
ing of my day ; though, from a remarkable lively disposi- 
tion, I did not yield to that awful fear, at seasons felt, which 
preserving from the snares of death would have led into 
a conformity to the Divine will. Being educated in great 
strictness by my parents, respecting the observance and 
ceremonies of the worship they professed, (that of the 
Establishment,) I was .a constant attendant upon them 



MARY DUDLEY. 97 

from childhood, though with this allowed to enter into 
most of the amusements of the world, to which my natural 
disposition greatly inclined. While in the midst of dissi- 
pation I often felt a dissatisfaction, and my mind was 
visited with something so awful that I appeared to others 
very grave, and have frequently been laughed at for it. 
I was fond of reading, and found much pleasure in yield- 
ing to it ; which, with a turn for poetry, and the intimate 
acquaintance of several sensible, seriously inclined per- 
sons, occupied much of my time from seventeen to eigh- 
teen years of age. These circumstances, together with the 
death of my beloved grandmother, gave a shock to that 
vanity, in the gratification of which she had much con- 
tributed to support me ; and a disappointment in an af- 
fectionate attachment terminated the attraction to visible 
objects, so that my mind was like a blank, waiting to be 
filled up, and prepared for the more extensive reception 
of the precious visitation, which early in the twentieth 
year of my life, was sweetly vouchsafed ; so that all that 
was within me bowed in deep prostration and yielded to 
the superior power of heavenly love. My mind being in 
the prepared state above described, it would be unsafe to 
date this change from the particular period of my attend- 
ing the Methodist meetings; though in doing so I cer- 
tainly felt more of Divine impressions than at any pre- 
vious season ; and particularly when under the ministry 
of one of their preachers, who seemed commissioned with 
a message to my mind. I continued to hear him, with 
many others ; attended all the means, as they are called, 
and was often sweetly affected and comforted ; yet even 
at such times there was something within me craving the 
purity of an inward, spiritual life — and seeing that with- 
out holiness no man could see the Lord, as I did believe 
was attainable, how did my whole soul breathe for this 
knowledge to be revealed, and in the depth of silence, 
9 G 



98 MAEY DUDLEY. 

struggle, that I might rightly seek and experience it. I 
went into various places of worship among the Dissenters, 
but still found a want, a vacuum unfilled with that good 
I was thirsting after. 

" Not from conviction, but partly from persuasion, and 
something in me yielding to the way I thought might 
easily settle me, I joined the Methodist Society, and also 
continued constantly to attend the established worship, 
that of my education ; but in the several ceremonies of 
this, and the different meetings of the other, such as classes, 
bands, etc., I felt unsatisfied ; and often while others were 
engaged in attention to the preaching and singing, has 
my spirit in solemn silence communed with ' The Lord 
my strength,' so that I scarcely knew what was passing 
around me, and even felt disturbed from this inward 
attraction, when obliged to draw to that spot where the 
outward elements were prepared for the congregation. 
Oh! how did I then feel the heavenly mystery, and 
sweetly partake of the bread of life, so that all forms and 
shadows fled away, and became no longer of use or 
efiicacy to a mind feeding spiritually on the substance. 
During these feelings and consequent shakings from all 
visible things, I often went into Friends' meetings, and 
there, especially in silence, did my spirit feed ; as it also 
did, in deep, awful retiredness, when no eye saw me; but 
when, by this powerful attraction, hours have passed 
away, so that my body seemed to do with a very small 
portion of rest or sleep, I felt like a child clinging to 
its parent's breast ; and in this state covenant was made, 
which to this hour, I humbly trust, has not been for- 
gotten." 

Her daughter states, that her totally withdrawing her- 
self from those scenes of amusement in which she had 
dissipated much precious time, brought upon her ridicule 
and censure from some of her companions ; and that the 



MARY DUDLEY. 99 

chaDge which she felt it her duty to make, by leaving off 
ornaments and wearing such attire as was consistent with 
her views of Christian simplicity, was very mortifying to 
some of her nearest connections. But she was enabled to 
persevere in the path of obedience ; and the peace with 
which her mind was favored more than counterbalanced 
these trials. 

After this she gradually withdrew from the Methodist 
Society, and became increasingly sensible that it was her 
religious duty to profess with Friends, which she was 
strengthened openly to do in language and demeanor, 
about the middle of the year 1773. The motives which 
influenced her are thus stated in her narrative : 

" The active zeal of the people I loved, and had joined, 
now appeared to me irreconcilable with that self-abase- 
ment, and utter inability to move without holy help, which 
I experienced. I had nothing but poverty and weakness 
to tell of; and when from the force of example I did 
speak, * my little strength was rather diminished than 
increased. Indeed, I found little but in quietude and in- 
ward attention ; and when centred here, I had all things, 
because I possessed the good itself. Thus was my mind 
drawn from all creatures, without the help of any, to the 
Creator and Source of light and life who, to finish His 
own work, saw meet to deprive me of my health. This 
happened in the year 1773, about the time of my dear 
father's death, on whom I closely attended through a 
lingering illness, wherein he said to me, ' Oh, Polly ! I 
had rather see you as you are than on a throne.' I be- 
live he died in peace. My complaints threatened my 
life, being consumptive; but I felt no way anxious re- 
specting the termination. I was weaned from all crea- 
tures, but felt beyond all doubt, that if life was prolonged, 

* Alluding to the practice of disclosing individual experience in 
the " Class Meetings " of the Methodist Society. 



100 MABY DUDLEY. 

were there no Quaker on earth, I must be one in princi- 
ple and practice ; but being determined, if the work was 
of God, He himself should effect it, I read not any book 
of their writing. Being utterly unable to go from home, 
I attended no place of worship, and conversed with very 
few, except my beloved and most intimate friend, Rebecca 
Scudamore, * and even to her were my lips sealed respect- 
ing the path pointed out to me ; but after hesitating and 
shrinking many weeks from using the plain language, 
[of thou and thee to one person,] wherein the cross was 
too great to be resignedly borne, she told me her fixed 
belief, that I ought to use it, and that my disobedience 
caused her great suffering, or to that effect ; I then told 
her, I was convinced of its being required ; but, that if 
giving my natural life would be accepted, I was ready to 
yield the sacrifice. My health grew worse, and every act 
of transgression increased my bodily weakness ; until 
feeling all was at stake, in the very anguish of my spirit 
I yielded ; and addressing my beloved and hitherto affec- 
tionate mother, in the language of conviction, my suffer- 
ings grew extreme through her opposition ; but never may 
my soul forget the precious inffuence then extended. The 
very climate I breathed in Avas sweet ; all was tranquil and 
serene, and the evidence of heavenly approbation beyond 
expression clear; so that this temporary suffering from 
mistaken zeal, seemed light, comparatively ; and indeed 
all was more than compensated by future kindness, when 
light shone about that dear parent's dwelling. My health 
mended, I soon got to meetings, and though ignorant of 
the way Friends had been led, or some peculiar testimo- 
nies they held, the day of vision clearly unfolded them 
one after another, so that obedience in one matter loosened 

■^ She was a member of the Church of England, and highly 
esteemed, as a woman of distinguished piety and deep spiritual 
experience. 



MARY DUDLEY. 101 

the seal to another opening, until I found, as face answered 
face in a glass, so did the experience of enlightened minds 
answer one to the other. 

" I now kept constantly to the meetings of Friends, and 
began to feel a settlement of mind in real peace, which my 
tossed state for several years, had caused me only tran- 
siently to possess ; or, at least, not in the degree of which 
I now partook ; not that all the work seemed requisite to 
commence anew, for assuredly Christ had been raised in 
my heart, though until now^, the government was not 
wholly on His shoulders ; but by this unreserved surren- 
der to His pure guidance, the mystery of godliness was 
beginning to open in increasing light and power, and that 
spirituality which had been discovered, was now in a meas- 
ure possessed. , . . 

" In religious meetings I was for some time frequently 
affected even to trembling, when matter would present to 
my mifid, as though I must deliver it. . . . For several 
meeting days I hesitated, not from wilful disobedience, 
but awful fear to move in so great a work ; and felt con- 
sequent poverty, though not severe condemnation : but 
one day, about the Eleventh month, I think in the year 
1773, sitting with Friends in their meeting-house in the 
Friars, Bristol, (I had once in a little country meeting, 
moved before, but never here, w^here the cross was great 
indeed,) my spirit bowed in awful reverence before the 
God of my life, and a few words so settled, that I could 
not any way shake them from me. I sat and trembled 
exceedingly, and desired to be excused; till a valuable 
Friend from America, Robert Willis, then on a religious 
visit to that city, stood up and spoke so encouragingly to 
my state, that when he closed, I stood on my feet, and the 
words impressing my mind, seemed to run through me as 
a passive vessel. He almost immediately kneeled down, 
and supplicated for the preservation of the little ones. I 



102 MAEY DUDLEY. 

could not stand while he was thus engaged, being as though' 
my whole frame was shaken through the power of truth. 
"When meeting closed, I got as quickly as I could out of 
it, and walked a back way home, with such a covering of 
sweet peace, that I felt the evidence indisputably clear, 
that if I were then called out of time, an everlasting in- 
heritance was sure : the whole creation wore an aspect of 
serenity, and the Creator of all things was my friend. 
Oh ! on my return home and retiring to my chamber, 
how sweetly precious did the language, addressed to the 
holy patriarch in an instance of obedience, feel to my 
spirit, and it was indeed sealed by Divine power, * Be- 
cause thou hast been faithful in this thing, in blessing I 
will bless thee,' " etc. 

Though she had been thus greatly favored, yet this 
dear Friend afterwards left the path of simple obedience, 
and by giving way to reasonings on the subject, was led 
to doubt her own fitness and preparation for so great a 
work as that of the ministry. She says : " Meeting after 
meeting I refused to move at the word of holy command, 
which hereby became less intelligible, and my understand- 
ing gradually darkened through rebellion, so that I said 
with Jonah, ' It is better for me to die than to live.' . . . 
Thus I went on as nearly as my recollection serves, for 
about seven years, after my first yielding to the reasonings 
before described; and indeed just before being brought 
out of this horrible pit, I think the extremity never was 
so great, insomuch that I fainted in my spirit, and all hope 
was cut off, my language being, ' I shall die in the pit.' " 
Whilst in this condition she attended a Province meeting, 
at Cork, in Ireland ; and was there enabled to bow in sub- 
mission to the Divine will, by declaring that which was 
given her for the people. This act of obedience was re- 
warded by a return of that precious holy quiet of mind, 
to which she had long been a stranger ; and by a sense 



MARY DUDLEY. 103 

of freedom from condemnation, in which her soul could 
rejoice. 

In her old age, after having had long acquaintance with 
the dealings of the Lord, she thus records her sense of the 
ground of salvation as revealed to her in the light of her 
own experience: 

" If I could sound through the whole earth what is my 
heartfelt belief, it would be in unison with the apostolic 
declaration, 'Not by works of righteousness which we 
have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by 
the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost/ 

" Mercy, mercy, is the sum and substance of my hope : 
the unmerited mercy of God in Christ Jesus, for the re- 
mission of sins, and perfecting the work of preparation 
for admittance into eternal settlement. 

"It is now between forty and fifty years since this ever- 
to-be-extolled mercy called me from darkness into light, 
in a spiritual sense, and the Lord was pleased to open the 
doctrines of the Gospel with clearness to my view. I trust 
I am safe in saying, that since that time I have not dared 
to call in question the ways of His working, nor to doubt 
the appointed means of salvation, as revealed when my 
awakened soul in deep prostration understood the lan- 
guage, and uttered it, 'A Saviour or I die, a Redeemer or 
I perish.' 

"Here conviction and repentance were known to be 
produced by the efficacious working of the promised gift, 
and nothing was left to depend upon, but the purchased 
redemption through the great Sacrifice without, and the 
sanctifying influence within. 

" What God hath thus joined together, none can, without 
derogating from His power and wisdom, put asunder. I 
wish to leave the expression of my unshaken faith in the 
stupendous plan of Divine love, as manifested in the in- 



104 MARY DUDLEY. 

carnation, sufferings, crucifixion, and resurrection of the 
ever blessed Redeemer ; His all-sufficient atonement for 
the guilt of sin, and continued intercession for poor, fallen 
man ; until in the gradual process of regeneration, the 
dominion over all evil is happily effected, and the great 
design in man's formation mercifully accomplished, by 
his experience of full redemption, through the operation 
of the pure and purifying Spirit of Christ." 

The last few months of her life were spent in much 
weakness of body, but her spirit was strengthened by faith 
in that Divine mercy, which, she said, " visited me in the 
morning of the day, has supported me through life, and 
will support me in death ; unmerited, unbounded, and, I 
trust, unchangeable mercy ! " The following are a few of 
her expressions : " Wonderfully was preserving grace 
afforded in the morning of my day, guarding from evil 
and keeping from many snares. It may well be said, * I 
guided thee when thou didst not know me ; ' and since my 
heart has been surrendered to Divine government and 
guidance, the promise has been graciously verified, * I 
will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' " 

"I have never doubted the universality, the freeness 
and fulness of Divine grace; and my faith is now un- 
shaken. Oh ! never limit this grace ; proclaim it as tliat 
whereby all may be saved. I go trembling and depend- 
ent, hoping that my sins will be forgiven for the sake of 
Him who loved us and gave himself for us. I have 
nothing of my own, not a rag (if I may use the expression 
of another Friend,) to clothe me with." 

" Grace has triumphed over nature's feelings. The 
Lord has fulfilled His promise. He has given the vic- 
tory through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, 
dominion, salvation, and strength now and forever; holy! 
holy! holy!" 

She quietly and peacefully ended her earthly career on 
the 24th of Ninth month, 1823. 



DANIEL WHEELER. 105 



DANIEL WHEELER. 

There are many persons now living in this country, 
who are familiar wuth the published account of the relig- 
ious visit paid to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean by the 
late Daniel Wheeler ; and who personally remember 
his visit to the meetings of Friends in this land. In the 
sixty-first year of his age, he commenced, from a sense of 
duty, a narrative of the gracious dealings of the Almighty 
with him ; from which, and his letters and other memo- 
randa, the following brief narrative has been compiled. 

He was born in London, in 1771. His parents were 
members of the Episcopal Church, and strict adherents 
to its rites and ceremonies. They endeavored to imbue 
the minds of their children at an early age with the fear 
of their great Creator, — taking them regularly to attend 
the performance of public worship, and also reading the 
Holy Scriptures in the family at home. But being both 
removed, while Daniel was still at the youthful age of 
twelve years, he was exposed to many temptations, to 
which he unhappily yielded. In reference to this period, 
he remarks : 

"At this distance of time I can painfully trace the 
springings up of the evil root, which failed not at an early 
age to bring forth fruit of those things, ^ whereof I am 
now ashamed ; ' having sorrowfully found from woeful ex- 
perience that their * end is death.' . . . Though now in 
full abhorrence of the same, through the mercy of God 
in Christ Jesus, I have a hope that my sins, though many, 
will be forgiven, and forever blotted out as a thick cloud ; 
and that my tribulated soul will yet be cleansed by the 
precious ^ blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things 
than that of Abel.' This only ' cried from the ground ' 
for vengeance against the offender ; whilst the blood of 



106 DANIEL WHEELER. 

Him who cried — ' Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do/ cleanseth from all sin, and was shed 
for many, for the remission of sins — yea, for all that re- 
pent, believe, and obey the gospel in the secret of their 
hearts revealed, which is the power of God unto salvation." 

After some changes, he was appointed a midshipman 
on board a man-of-war. This, he says, was an introduc- 
tion to a school, which is not often equalled, and but sel- 
dom surpassed, for vice and immorality. Whilst on 
ship-board, and when about sixteen years of age, having 
been indisposed, and probably led to reflect a little on 
that account, he says : " I was made sensible of a Divine 
visitation being extended to me ; disclosing with indubi- 
table clearness the vanity and emptiness of every earthly 
station, tarnishing the pride and glory of this perishing 
world in my sight; and which, though little understood, 
and less regarded at the moment, has since at different 
periods of my chequered life, been brought to my remem- 
brance by Him, 'who declareth unto man his thoughts, 
— who maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon 
the high places of the earth — the Lord, the Lord of hosts 
is His name.' When this occurred, although then entered 
into the bond of iniquity, I had not launched so fully into 
its dreadful abyss, as w^as afterwards most lamentably the 
case ; and fi'om what I have since witnessed in unutterable 
mercy, of the strength and power of redeeming love, a 
belief is induced, that if this warning voice, then sound- 
ing in the secret of my sinful heart — * Behold, I stand at 
the door and knock,' had been hearkened unto and waited 
upon, my footsteps, even mine, would have been conducted 
from the horrible pit to which they were fast verging." 

Of the time spent in the navy — about six years — he 
remarks, *' Notwithstanding the many and great dangers 
I was exposed to, and the hardships and sufferings I had 
to endure, through all which I was preserved and sus- 



DANIEL WHEELER. 107 

tained in a manner at this day inconceivable to myself; 
yet none of these things were sufficient to soften the rocky 
heart, or bring me to a sense of my lost condition. 

" Towards the latter part of the time of my being in 
the navy, it was suggested to my lost and bewildered 
mind, by the subtle destroyer of men, that nothing short 
of making away with myself, could extricate me from the 
difficulties by which I w^as surrounded, and shelter me 
from shame and disgrace ; and the method of its accom- 
plishment was at seasons hinted at. But — blessed be the 
name of the Lord God of heaven and earth forever! His 
invisible arm of merciful interposition preserved me from 
this dreadful snare; and in the greatness of His love 
and strength He hath at this distant period put it into 
the heart of His unworthy creature to record His mighty 
acts, to His praise and to His glory, with humble and 
reverent thankfulness. Greatly do I desire that if this 
relation should ever fall into the hands of any poor sin- 
ners and servants of the cruel taskmaster, as was then my 
lot — that such may be hereby strengthened and encour- 
aged to look unto the Lord their God for help, even though 
they may be plunged into the very gulf of despair : for 
' His compassions fail not," — they are new every morning ; 
His tender mercies are over all His works ; and He will 
give power to the faint, and strength to them that have 
no might of their own, to resist this and every other 
temptation of that wicked one, who was a liar from the 
beginning." 

After leaving the navy, Daniel Wheeler enlisted as a 
private soldier in the army. Having been sent into Ire- 
land, which was then in a very unsettled state, he was 
detailed for some special service in the interior. Here, 
he says, " I was suddenly attacked by a poor infuriated 
creature, in a state little short of perfect madness from 
continued intoxication, supported by several others, but 



108 DANIEL WHEELER. 

in a less outrageous condition. I kept him at bay for 
some time, but at last he got so near, that it became every 
moment more difficult to avoid being reached by the 
violent strokes he made with some kind of weapon, I 
think of iron, which were repeatedly received by the fire- 
lock in my hands, then loaded with ball. In this situa- 
tion, there seemed left me no other than the dreadful 
alternative of shooting him to save myself I called in 
vain in the language of appeal to the other people to in- 
terfere ; they stood by, as if to see how matters were likely 
to terminate, before they began to act or take a part of 
any consequence either way ; which they nearly carried 
too far; but when they saw me actually preparing to shoot 
the man, they hastily cried out, — * spare life, spare life! ' 
which I only wanted their help to enable me to accom- 
plish. They then seized him, and in the midst of the 
struggle and confusion which took place amongst them- 
selves, my escape was happily effected. ... I have 
frequently thought of this circumstance since it occurred, 
I hope with humble thankfulness to the great Preserver 
of men ; and now on committing it to record, as one of 
those many events, in which there was but one step be- 
tween me and the grave, and whilst shuddering at the 
strong recollection of it, my soul magnifies that unmerited 
and amazing mercy, afresh displayed and multiplied to 
my understanding in a twofold view : — on the one hand 
in withholding me from the crime of taking away the life 
of a fellow-creature, like myself, ^ in the gall of bitterness;' 
and, if I had escaped myself, thus sparing me, at this late 
hour, amidst the decay of nature, when the shadows of 
the evening are stretching out, and my feet drawing near 
the margin of the grave — the appalling thought of a bro- 
ther's, blood, yet uuwiped away; on the other hand, in 
rescuing from immediate death two miserable sinners, 
v\^holly unprepared to die ; for had I taken away the man's 



DANIEL WHEELER. 109 

life, my own would doubtless have been forthwith sacri- 
ficed to the revenge of his enraged companions. Thus, 
as my history rolls on, the enormous load of debt which 
I already owe unto my Lord still accumulates ; and verily 
it can never be liquidated, but in that infinite and won- 
drous mercy, which delighteth to forgive every repenting 
sinner, who in the depths of humility and abaseduess of 
self, has indeed * nothing to pay' withal." 

The division of the army to which Daniel Wheeler 
was attached, was soon after sent to Holland, to reinforce 
the British troops on the continent, in the war then waging 
with the French. As they were inadequately provided 
with food and protection, and subjected to many hard- 
ships, and exposed to a very unhealthy climate, while 
endeavoring to avoid the superior force of the French 
army; a large portion of this detachment perished. Of 
his own preservation he thus speaks: ^* Notwithstanding 
the constant exposure to every shower of rain that fell, 
without covering over my head, and with no couch but 
the earth, and that at times soaked with wet ; whilst 
harassed with fatiguing marches night after night, and 
with little rest by day ; amidst hunger and thirst, being 
often short of food for days together, and occasionally no 
water to be had, without digging a well to procure it, to 
avoid the unwholesome waters of the stagnant pools ; and 
although for several wrecks together my clothes were never 
taken ofi*, but to renew^ a shirt, and my shoes but seldom 
ofi* my weary feet; yet through all, my health was not 
materially affected, till near the approach of winter. But 
in the above description not one-half has been told of that 
marvellous mercy which was still extended for my pres- 
ervation, when many fell by the sword, or w^ere taken 
captives by the enemy, — when thousands were swept off 
by pestilence, — and whilst, unhurt myself, I saw the 
wounds of others bleed. Once, whilst gone to Helvoet- 
10 



110 DANIEL WHEELER. 

sluys in search of some baggage, I entirely missed a con- 
test in which our regiment was deprived of twenty-eight 
men ; and, when at last overwhelmed with sickness and 
distress, the same Divine and compassionate arm of ever- 
lasting love and strength, was still underneath to bear 
up my helpless head, and in His own time, to rescue me 
from the very jaws of death, to celebrate His praise, and 
to declare in humble thankfulness and gratitude of soul, 
" His wonderful works to the children of men." 

The continued exposure to the cold rains which fell 
almost daily, together with other causes of disease, at 
length produced its effect on Daniel Wheeler. He was 
seized with the prevailing disorder, a fever of the typhus 
kind, of which numbers died daily. He was very ill, and 
as not more than one in fifty of those attacked recovered, 
there seemed little probability of his restoration to health. 
Of his mental condition at the time, he makes these re- 
marks : " I am not aware that I had even a wish to live ; 
but my mind was so reconciled to the prospect of death, 
which then seemed near and inevitable, that I had given 
my watch into the hands of a person, with the request, 
that he would inform my family where I had ended my 
days. Indeed, when some expectation of recovery was at 
last held out, I could not help looking forward with a 
feeling of regret, to the probability of having again to 
encounter the series of hardships and distress, to which I 
should unavoidably be subjected. 

" In looking back at the marvellous manner in which 
I was sustained through all this conflict, and again re- 
stored as one brought back from the dead, I cannot avoid 
adverting to that period of my illness, when my mind felt 
so reconciled to the prospect of death, as before mentioned ; 
and I now fully believe, from what I have since been 
mercifully favored to experience, that so far from being 
in any degree prepared for such an awful event, a decep- 



DANIEL WHEELER. Ill 

tive feeling must have been superinduced by the state of 
torpor and insensibility in which I then was, and which 
totally benumbed any better feelings and desires as to the 
future. To this may be added a predominating fear, of 
having to endure more of those sufferings, of which I had 
had no small share ; which, the probability of being again 
restored to health seemed to banish every hope of escap- 
ing. Truly awful is the thought which this view of my 
then lost condition occasions, when I contemplate the woe 
and misery which must have been my eternal portion, 
if unutterable mercy and long-suffering had been with- 
drawn ; and if the soul had been required of one, who had 
witnessed no repentance towards God the Judge of all, 
except what at times the fear of punishment had extorted ; 
and who was a stranger to that saving faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, as the * Lamb of God that taketh away the 
sin of the world,' — without which His precious blood 
would have been shed in vain for me : I should thus have 
died in my sins, Which, unrepented of, would have fol- 
lowed after to judgment, in terrible array against my 
guilty soul — and yet when my end was apparently so near 
and inevitable, if such questions as are frequently pro- 
posed on the like occasions had been put to me, I have 
little doubt, but satisfactory answers would have been 
returned, as to my belief and hope in the essential truths 
of the Gospel. But alas ! this would have been from hear- 
say and traditional report, and not from any heartfelt 
saving knowlege of my own : for it is now plain to my 
understanding, that no man can have saving faith in 
Jesus Christ, who is unacquainted with, and does not 
walk in, the light of that Divine Spirit, which is so justly 
styled the Spirit of faith. It is through this alone, that 
the death and sufferings of Christ, and His whole sacri- 
fice for sin are availing, and truly applied to all those, 
who through faith lay hold of Him, the true Light and 



112 DANIEL WHEELER. 

Saviour of them that believe in His inward and spiritual 
appearance. These can say to others from sensible and 
blessed experience, * Behold the Lamb of God that taketh 
away the sin of the world:' they have received the atone- 
ment by Him, and they reap the glorious fruit and benefit 
of His death and suffering from sin, by the sacrifice of 
himself, and of His resurrection and ascension ; in that 
He ever liveth to make intercession for those, who are 
thus willing to come unto God by Him. A man may 
yield assent to all the great and solemn truths of Chris- 
tianity ; the miraculous birth, holy life, cruel sufferings, 
ignominious death, and glorious resurrection and ascen- 
sion of our blessed Redeemer ; he may believe in the ab- 
stract in His inward and spiritual appearance in the 
hearts of mankind by His Holy Spirit ; and yet he may 
fall short of the prize immortal, unless he comes to wit- 
ness the saving operation of the Holy Spirit in his own 
heart, and to know thereby through faith in it, a purify- 
ing preparation for the kingdom of righteousness, peace 
and joy in the Holy Ghost.'' 

In the autumn of 1795, D. Wheeler obtained a com- 
mission in a regiment destined for the West Indies, and 
sailed with the expedition appointed to this service, under 
Sir Ralph Abercrombie. After a most stormy and dis- 
astrous passage, they were once in sight of the islands, but 
were driven back by a dreadful hurricane ; in which sev- 
eral of the vessels foundered, and great numbers of the 
troops perished. A malignant fever also raged with fatal 
violence among the crews of the fleet, and in the ship in 
which he had embarked, no less than twenty-seven fell 
victims to it, within a short space of time. 

In connection with this period, he once remarked to a 
friend, on being questioned as to the means made use of 
in the Divine hand for effecting a new birth unto right- 
eousness in his heart, that he could not remember any 



DANIEL WHEELER. 113 

outward means having been employed, unless indeed, he 
might except a storm at sea, during which his mind was 
deeply affected ; and when, under a feeling of his own 
lost condition by nature, he was mercifully enabled also 
to see the remedy, and the entire spirituality of the gospel 
dispensation. In accordance with this feeling, he re- 
marked, " I was at this time convinced of Friends' princi- 
ples, they being neither more nor less in my estimation, 
than pure Christianity. I remember when the Friends 
visited me on my application for membership, I told them, 
* I was convinced at sea ; ' for I verily believed in looking 
back that this had been the case : no human means were 
made use of; it was altogether the immediate work of the 
Holy Spirit upon my heart." Under these feelings, he 
became dissatisfied with the military profession, and re- 
solved that if permitted again to reach the shore, he 
would endeavor to lead a life of more circumspection, and 
which should tend to the glory of that Being, who had 
thus so mercifully visited him by His free grace. To this 
resolution he adhered ; he quitted the army in the early 
part of the year 1796. 

Subsequently to this he became an inmate of his sister's 
family, who had joined the Society of Friends. His mind 
became renewedly impressed with the importance of 
Divine Truth, and in the course of a few months, he was 
led openly to espouse those doctrines, of which, in after 
years, he was so unflinching an advocate. The little meet- 
ing which he attended in the early part of his religious 
course, that of Handsworth-Woodhouse, was usually held 
in silence ; and he has often been known to refer to some 
of those solemn seasons, as times of peculiar instruction 
to his mind ; in which the power of the Lord was sensibly 
felt, and His truth revealed. 

As he waited patiently upon the Lord for instruction, 
he was made sensible, that the only path in which he 
10* H 



114 DANIEL VTHEELER. 

could walk with safety, was that of self-deDial. Much 
mental conflict was at this season his portion ; but peace 
was only to be obtained by an entire surrender of the 
will ; and in conformity with what he believed required of 
him, he adopted the plain dress. He once recounted to a 
friend in lively terms, the trial it was to him to put en a 
different hat to that which he had been accustomed to 
wear; especially as in going to the meeting at Wood- 
house, he generally met a number of his former gay ac- 
quaintances, whom he crossed on the way to their place 
of worship, which he had himself previously been in the 
practice of attending. In this instance it was hard to ap- 
pear openly as a fool before men ; he thought if his natural 
life might have been accepted as a substitute, he would 
gladly have laid it down; but this was not the thing re- 
quired. He diligently examined his heart, and believed 
he saw clearly his Master's will in the requisition ; and 
that it was a discipline designed to bring him into a state 
of childlike obedience and dependence. In great distress 
he cried unto the Lord for help ; and a passage of Scrip- 
ture was powerfully applied to his mind, " AVhosoever 
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before 
my Father which is in heaven." His resolution was im- 
mediately taken : he put on the hat, and with his mind 
staid on the Lord, set out to join his friends at meeting. 

In the course of the year 1797 he was received into 
membership with the Society of Friends ; and entered 
into business at Sheffield, in the seed trade. It was his 
uniform practice from his first commencement in trade, 
to close his shop during the hours of religious meeting on 
week days ; and though this must have required a strong 
exercise of faith, at a time when his future support seemed 
to depend on his assiduity and exertion, he was never 
satisfied to neglect the worship of Almighty God, from 
the prospect of any outward advantage ; and he has often 



DANIEL WHEELER. 115 

expressed his belief, that a blessing had rested on this 
sacrifice of apparent interest to duty. 

^t would have been interesting to have had from Daniel 
Wheeler's own pen, a more detailed account of the opera- 
tions of Grace on his mind at that important period of 
life, when his feet were turned from the broad way in 
which he had been running towards ruin, and into that 
narrow path which leads to everlasting rest and peace. 
But his letters and journal contain numerous passages 
which show, that his views of the nature of that momen- 
tous change, and of the manner in which it is effected, are 
in full accordance with those of the worthies whose ex- 
perience has been given in the earlier pages of this work. 
In a letter written from Russia, whither he had gone, from 
a sense of duty, to superintend the drainage and cultiva- 
tion of some large tracts of swampy Mnds, and dated in 
the year 1829, he says : 

" An individual thoroughly convinced of our principles, 
and keeping close to that which has convinced him, will 
undoubtedly, as he continues faithful, be converted by 
it. . . . Such as these have bought the Truth, at the 
price of becoming fools before men for Christ's sake: 
they have believed in the sufficiency of His power re- 
vealed in the heart, to cleanse and purify them from all 
sin ; and although they may have had to pass through 
many conflicts, occasionally for several years, without 
appearing to gain any ground, they have been strength- 
ened to persevere and still to wait for Him. The weight 
of former sins and transgressions has been long and pain- 
fully felt to rise in humiliating retrospect before the view 
of the mind, time after time, in terrible array ; working 
for each, true sorrow and repentance never to be repented 
of. But although at seasons he is ready to faint, when 
faith and hope have been reduced to a low ebb, yet the 
invisible Arm of strength is still underneath, unseen and 



116 DANIEL WHEELER. 

unfelt, supporting the tribulated traveller in the appa- 
rently unequal warfare ; until every sin has passed before- 
hand to judgment; and at last, the glorious day begins%) 
dawn, when He, who has been *as a refiner's fi.re, and 
like fuller's soap,' before whom nothing of a transgressing 
nature can stand 'when He appeareth,' or can abide 
* the day of His coming,' is now discovered to be * the 
sun of righteousness,' arisen * with healing in His wings,' 
to the joy and comfort of the wounded soul. Then the 
love of God is truly known ; and until this blessed day is 
felt in the great and heartfelt work of regeneration, none 
can experimentally and truly say, that * God is love ; ' 
they are mere words to all who have not witnessed the 
inward workings of His power in their heart ; but now 
they feel Him to be a God of love and mercy, too, and 
are renewedly maA willing in the love of Him to wait 
for Him." 

When engaged in a religious visit to the isles of the 
Pacific Ocean, he addressed a congregation among the 
Tahitians ; and after expressing the desire, that they 
might every one be numbered among the ransomed and 
redeemed of the Lord ; who shall return and come to 
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; 
he adds : " I had to tell them, that a great and individual 
work must be accomplished before these gracious and pro- 
phetic promises are realized. The indignation of the Lord 
must be patiently borne for sin and for transgression ; 
until He should arise and plead their cause, and execute 
judgment for them, and in His own time say, it is enough ; 
and bring them forth to the light, even the light of Christ 
Jesus, in whom they will tlien behold the Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sin of the world." 

If any of the readers of these extracts should desire to 
find an easier way to the kingdom of Heaven, and shrink 
from submission to the crucifying power of the cross of 



DANIEL WHEELER. 117 

Christ, let them consider the caution contained in the fol- 
lowing passage, in another of Daniel Wheeler's letters : 

"There are persons, who have actually commenced a re- 
form in great sincerity, and have been drawn into solid 
and serious reflection, but these, unhappily, frequently fall 
into the way of a class of people, whose writings and con- 
versation lead them to expect, that when they embrace 
the religion of Jesus, they will immediately witness some 
delightful sensations of heavenly joy. But alas ! they 
calculate on the reward before the warfare is begun. If 
such, for a short season persist in communing with their 
own hearts ; and are, through condescending love and 
mercy, favored to draw near to the Saviour of men ; their 
expectation is disappointed, and they find that * He is with- 
out form or comeliness,' and hath no * beauty ' to make 
Him desirable. There is nothing to feed and support 
those airy and fantastic notions, which their minds have 
previously and so perniciously imbibed. Thus the ines- 
timable pearl is overlooked, or set at nought; the lan- 
guage of the prophet is verified, and the blessed Master 
is, I fear, at this day, by too many, in this way * despised 
and rejected of men.' " 

The same doctrine that Daniel Wheeler preached to the 
Tahitians, as already mentioned, he was frequently con- 
strained in the flowings of Gospel love, to proclaim to 
others. Thus, in his account of a meeting in the Sand- 
wich Islands, he says, " I was largely opened to declare 
the everlasting truth amongst them, and to turn them to its 
light in their own hearts — to the Holy Spirit of Him, who 
is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world ; in whom only there is life, and who is the only 
way to God the Father, as declared by himself: 'I am 
the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the 
Father but by me.' That a mere outward profession of 
religion would prove altogether unavailing to them ; the 



118 DANIEL WHEELER. 

great work of regeneration must be witnessed : that to be 
members of the true church they must be redeemed with 
judgment from sin and transgression, and be converted 
unto God by the righteousness of Christ Jesus, believed 
in and submitted to through faith in the operation of the 
Spirit of God, who raised Him from the dead ; with whom 
also they must be raised from death unto life." 

It is not in accordance with the plan of this collection 
to describe in detail the varied and valuable services of 
this dear Friend, and the manner in which he was enabled 
to bear his testimony to the Gospel, both by word and 
deed, in his own native country, in the dominions of the 
Czar of Russia, in America, and among the Pacific Islands. 
He continued to the last a faithful laborer in his Master's 
cause ; and ended his useful and instructive career in the 
city of New York, in 1840. He had come there under 
a concern, to finish a religious visit to the churches in 
America, which had been before partially performed. In 
his last illness, he said, " I want nothing but the love of my 
Heavenly Father, and I witness it." Several times during 
his sickness he made the request, " I want to be left en 
tirely alone with my Heavenly Father." To a beloved 
friend who called to see him, he remarked, *' Whilst I was 
on shipboard, and thought by some of the passengers to 
be nigh unto death, how did the Lord appear for my help 
and consolation ; and since I have been in this chamber, 
how has He appeared for my comfort in the night season ; 
and I have been enabled to sing hymns of praise and 
thanksgiving unto Him. When the ship made her sound- 
ings, I made my soundings upon that Rock, whose foun- 
dation is from everlasting to everlasting." 

Daniel Wheeler labored to imbue the minds of his 
children with the love and fear of the Almighty. Whilst 
they were still young in years, he instructed them dili- 
gently in the Holy Scriptures; and was persevering in 



DANIEL WHEELER. 119 

his efforts to make them familiar with the lives of the 
early members of the Society of Friends, which so strik- 
ingly portray the precious fruits of the principles he 
professed. As they advanced towards maturity, he was 
earnest in imploring for them the gift of Divine Grace, 
and diligent in watching for opportunities to impress 
upon them the importance of spiritual things. As his 
eldest son attained the age of manhood, earnest were the 
cravings of his father, that the Lord would direct his 
heart " into the Love of God, and into the patient wait- 
ing for Christ." He knew well, that, to the natural man, 
the things of God must ever be a mystery; and he longed, 
that, through submission to the operations of the Spirit of 
Truth, they might be opened to his understanding. Often, 
with parental tenderness, he silently watched the opening 
convictions of his inquiring mind, and as opportunities 
presented, he labored to explain to him the views he had 
himself received. At one time, the sentiments of his son 
on these all-important subjects were exceedingly unset- 
tled, and he passed through deep mental conflict before 
he yielded to the light of Divine truth in his soul, which 
dispelled the doubts and reasonings by which he was as- 
sailed. It was at this period, that one evening, his father 
and he being alone together, they had much conversation 
on the points which then pressed heavily on the mind of 
the latter. Before retiring to rest, his father handed him 
the Bible, and requested him to read a chapter : he took 
the book and read the third chapter of Malachi. Deep 
seriousness overspread his countenance, and after a con- 
siderable time of silence he repeated, " The Lord whom 
ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the mes- 
senger of the covenant whom ye delight in ; " ^ and He 
shall be *' like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap : " add- 
ing, " Yes, He will come into His own temple, the temple 
of the heart, and there do His own work. I never under- 



120 SARAH GRUBB. 

stood this chapter before, nor saw, as I now see it, the 
spiritual nature of the Gospel dispensation." The im- 
pression thus made was not effaced. The change which 
gradually succeeded was most striking ; clearly evincing 
to those around, that the day had indeed dawned, and 
the day-star ariseu, in a heart long oppressed with dark- 
ness, and a prey to many doubts. In reference to this 
period, his father once remarked with much emotion, — 
" this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and 
fasting,'' intimating the long-continued exercise of soul 
through which he had been led on behalf of his son. 



SARAH GRUBB. 



Sarah Grubb, whose maiden name was Lynes, was 
born in London in 1773. She was one of the most emi- 
nently gifted of the ministers raised up in the Society of 
Friends of latter times. The following sketch is con- 
densed from an account published by her children in 1848. 

When about eight years of age, after the death of her 
father, she was placed at ** Friends' School," Islington. 
In some memoranda, written when about sixty years old, 
for the benefit of her children, she says: "At school I 
sought the Lord ; feeling His power in my heart operat- 
ing against the evil propensities of my nature ; yet to 
these corrupt inclinations I many, many times gave way; 
and for this I was brought under great condemnation, 
even as early as when nine years old ; so that I bemoaned 
my condition, and have begged and prayed at that period 
for a better state and a happier. I went on sinning and 
repenting for years ; still my love for good books in- 
creased, and for good people. We had few books. The 
Bible and one or two journals of Friends, are all that I 



SARAH GRUBB. 121 

can recollect reading, and I really valued them as liighly 
as I was capable of doing in this my childhood. When 
I grew to about thirteen years of age, I began to discover 
something about me, or in my mind, like the heavenly 
anointing for the ministry ; for the Lord had revealed 
His word as a hammer, and had broken the rock in pieces 
in my living experience ; and I was contrited under a 
sense of power and love ; saying, even vocally, when alone, 
* Lord, make me a chosen vessel unto thee ! ' I could even 
then utter good things, and have done so to my school- 
fellows in select companies ; and once I saw several in 
tears while I spoke to them. I was not, however, sensible 
of a Divine requiring to do as I then did. 

"Soon after I was fourteen years old, a friend from 
Leland took me into her family to attend her children, 
wh« were young, there being four of them. 

" With respect to my first appearances as one called to 
speak in the high and holy name of the Lord, they were 
in great fear, and under a feeling that my natural inclina- 
tion would not lead me into such exposure, for I shrunk 
from it exceedingly ; and often have I hesitated, and felt 
such a reluctance to it, that I have suffered the meeting 
to*break up without my having made the sacrifice ; yea, 
when the word of life, in a few words, was like a fire 
within me. Great has been my mourning through these 
omissions of duty, although but seventeen years old 
when I first gave utterance publicly to a sentence or two ; 
and I had opened my mouth in private many months pre- 
viously, under the constraining influence of the Spirit of 
Truth ; being without the shadow of a doubt that it was 
indeed required of me, poor child as I was. I had sweet 
consolation in coming into obedience, and after awhile 
was surprised to find that, although I stood up in meet- 
ings expecting only to utter a little matter, more passed 
through me I scarcely knew how. 
11 



122 SARAH GRUBB. 

" Thus the gift grew, and much baptism and suffering 
was my portion from time to time : the great work of my 
salvation and sanctification going on, while I was occa- 
sionally induced to invite others to the needful acquaint- 
ance with Him who came to redeem us from all iniquity. 
I have never known an easier way to favor with the Lord 
of life and glory, than that of passive submission to all 
His holy will concerning me, even under dispensations 
most proving and mortifying to the fleshly mind. 

" I lived nearly ten years in the family to which I went 
from school, viz., that of Sarah Grubb, of Anner Mills, 
near Clonmel, Ireland. Never, all that time, could I see 
my way to change my situation ; for, through all the dif- 
ficulty, that lay in my way of fulfilling my religious duty, 
I believed that the Great Master had some good end which 
He designed to answer, in permitting me to be, as it \^ipre, 
cramped in the gift dispensed to me as a minister of 
Christ ; and my faith was at times renewed and colifirmed, 
that if I would patiently endure to the end, my reward 
would be sure. Thus I was mercifully enabled to * wait all 
the days of my appointed time until my change came ; ' 
until in the clear openings of truth, I was led back to my 
native land, to my near relatives, and sent forth largely^ to 
publish the glad tidings of the Gospel. I had been some 
journeys while a servant in Ireland, but now a very wide 
field of labor opened before me ; and, with the consent of 
my monthly meeting, I travelled much up and down in 
England, both among Friends and others, for some suc- 
cessive years, and many blessed > and powerful meetings 
we had, to the praise of His excellent name, without whom 
we can do nothing, and are nothing. 

" It pleased the Lord to call me into a path much un- 
trodden, in my early travels as a messenger of the Gospel — 
having to go into markets, and to declare the truth in the 
streets. This sore exercise began in Cork, Ireland, but 



SARAH GRUBB. 123 

it was only in one instance required of me in that nation ; 
in England, however, many, very many, such sacrifices I 
had to make in pursuit of peace ; and in pure obedience 
to the will of my Heavenly Father I gave up. No one 
knows the depth of my sufferings, and the mortifying, yea, 
crucifying of my own will, which I had to endure in this 
service ; yet I have to acknowledge to the sufiiciency of 
Divine grace herein. Many times I had brave opportuni- 
ties on these occasions to invite the people to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who manifests himself in the conscience as 
a light, and who would discover the evil of covetousness 
and of all unrighteousness, leading and teaching ' to do 
justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.' 
Hundreds, possibly thousands, who would not, even though 
requested, come to meet us in a house or place of worship, 
have thus felt the power of the living God, in hearing tell 
that He rewardeth every man according to his ways, and 
according to the fruit of his doings. In some instances 
we were rudely treated. Once in a great town (Leicester), 
while I was speaking in the market, there came two men 
who looked really furious. They said the mayor ordered 
me down — coming toward me through the crowd that 
stood around, evidently intending to pull me down from 
where! stood ; but I observed them, and looking at them, 
their countenances fell, and they appeared to have no 
power to touch me : however, as they came with an order 
from the mayor of the town, I told the people how it was, 
and commended them to their inward teacher Christ. 
When we obeyed the order, and were leaving the place, 
some said, had it been a mountebank who stood in my 
place, he would have been suffered to proceed ; but that 
which drew their attention to God was prohibited. Others, 
who were light and wicked, reviled us. I had, as usual, 
some dear and tender friends among the brethren, who 
accompanied and stood by me in such great exercise. 



124 SARAH GRUBB. 

These partook of the insults offered — the people throw 
ing at them ; indeed, somebody was unfeeling enough to 
bring hot melted lead and cast at us, some of which was 
found on some part of the clothing of one dear friend. I 
retired to my chamber at a Friend's house, after this 
bustle ; and oh, the sweet tranquillity that filled my mind! 
I thought it a foretaste of that glorious rest prepared for 
the children of God in His eternal kingdom." 

" Once, when young in the ministry, being at an inn with 
the family with whom I lived, I heard one of them say 
she had placed a handkerchief in one of the chambers, 
and on going to fetch it, could not find it. Immediately 
my mind was impressed with a sense that a young girl 
whom I had seen in the house had stolen the handker- 
chief I was astonished at my conviction of this fact, for 
I had by no means a disposition to suspect any one of 
evil. It was not, however, to be suppressed ; for I saw 
with clearness she had committed the theft: what showed 
it me was the light of the Lord, which came like lightning 
into my mind. I ran to inquire for the girl, who came, 
not knowing my business with her. I looked at her, and 
in the fear of the Lord told her she had stolen the hand- 
kerchief, which she dared not deny, and it was produced. 
Then I spoke to her, the power of the Lord accompany- 
ing what I said, in a wonderful manner ; the girl turned 
very pale, almost like a corpse. I continued to declare 
of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and to warn the young 
creature for perhaps twenty minutes. While the Lord's 
word was passing through me, a servant was cleaning 
the floor of the room where we stood — one apparently of 
the very lowest of her class. She felt so struck by the 
authority with which the communication was attended, 
that she raised her hands with astonishment. The mother 
of the young girl came to me before we left the inn, 
and asked me how I could tell that her daughter had 



SARAH GRUBB. 125 

taken and concealed the handkerchief; to which I replied, 
that I was made acquainted with it from a sense given 
me by the Spirit of Truth in my own mind — the anoint- 
ing which could not only give me to be without doubt in 
this thing, but also did influence all that take heed to it, 
so • as to lead them out of sin, and bring them to live 
godly lives. I told her she had this gift of God in her- 
self; that all the children of men had it, or a measure 
of it ; and warned her to take heed to it. I understood 
they were all Papists who heard me speak. After this 
was over, and we passed away from the place, I was so 
overcome with what had occurred, that I could not re- 
frain from many tears." 

" At Bath I had to go to the Pump Rooms, and declare 
the truth to the gay people who resorted there. This 
was a time very relieving to my sorely exercised mind. 
In these days and years of my life, I was seldom from 
under some heavy burden, so that I went greatly bowed 
down ; sometimes ready to say, ' If it be thus with me, 
oh, thou who hast given me a being, I pray thee take 
away my life from me.' At length I saw to the end of 
this trying dispensation. I saw clearly that it was ful- 
filled, like other dispensations that had been allotted me 
in inscrutable wisdom, and which all have had a tendency 
to 'crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts,' even 
bringing into a disposition to ' bear about in the body the 
dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might 
be made manifest in our body.' Oh ! it is good to say 
amen to the whole will of God concerning us ; to be pa- 
tient when brought to a low estate, and * make not haste 
in time of trouble.' 

" In the year 1801, I wrote thus : — ^ Oh ! my Heavenly 
Father, thou hast seen me in the depths of tribulation, 
in my many journeyings and travails. When, in obedi- 
ence to the holy leadings of thy Spirit, I went forth, 
11* 



126 SARAH GRUBB. 

thou didst take cognizance of me — when I felt the woes 
of the wicked, when I passed by the gates of death. It 
was thy power which supported me when no flesh could 
help, when man could not comprehend the depth of 
my exercise. Without thee, I could not have gone, bear- 
ing my cross into the public streets, into the hurrying 
markets ; warning the people of thy justice in " rewarding 
every man according to his works, and according to the 
fruit of his doings ; " inviting all to love and fear thy 
great, thy Holy Name. By thee have my feet entered 
the prison-houses, and my tongue declared of thy good- 
ness ; holding forth the invitation to be acquainted with 
thee in thy Christ, and be set free from the bondage of 
corruption ; to come from under the law of sin and death, 
into the glorious liberty of thy Gospel. Thou hast many, 
many times led me into the sick wards unto the bed of 
languishing, and unto the rolling pillow. Thou hast given 
me to minister of thy word to the afflicted, and to put my 
soul in their soul's stead, in some degree. Thou hast en- 
abled me to lift up my voice as a trumpet, not only to 
thy gathered church, but as it were to Jews and Gentiles. 
Without thee, oh, thou fulness of strength, I am less 
than the worm of the dust. Be thou only and forever 
exalted in, by, and through thy poor child ; and let noth - 
ing be able to pluck me out of thy hand. Amen. 

"I am far from acknowledging myself to have been 
without un watchfulness, even while preaching to others. 
Often, very often, have I mourned over my frail, erring 
nature, and bitter anguish hath at times taken hold upon 
me, in a sight and sense of my wretchedness without my 
Saviour. Yea, to this day do I find shame and confusion 
cover me, because of my want of strict adherence to the 
all-preserving principle of Divine grace. In it lies our 
sufficiency, as certainly as was the' case with any in any 
age; for it is the manifestation of Christ Jesus the Lord, 



SARAH GRUBB. 127 

who came in the flesh, and is come in the Spirit to save 
us from our sins. There have been seasons mercifully 
afforded me, notwithstanding all that I deplore, when an 
evidence has been granted that my past sins were remitted, 
and that He who had brought my soul through tribula- 
tion, had also washed me with the water of regenera- 
tion, and purged me from mine iniquities in His own 
blood, of His own free mercy ; to whom be ascribed sal- 
vation and glory, now and forever. Amen. And oh, that 
I may be vigilant — that I may be kept low in the fear 
of the Most High, * lest, when I have preached to others, 
I myself should be a castaway.' " 

A few extracts from S. Grubb's letters are subjoined, in 
illustration of the character of her public service in some 
of the meetings she attended. 

To her husband, 7 mo. 21st, 1814: — " We went to meet- 
ing at Tring yesterday, where I was engaged in both testi- 
mony and supplication in an encouraging strain, but I 
did not know that things were as high as sometimes ; yet, 
when I lifted up my eyes, oh ! the tears of tenderness that 
were strewing all about me, and when we came out of 
meeting, almost all the young people were wonderfully 
broken ; some of them took my hand and could hardly 
speak for weeping. It was truly delightful and con- 
soling to see that the power of the Lord had reached 
them, and that they were so near the truth. I need not 
tell my endeared companion in life, that nothing belongs 
to the creature of glory or praise, but to the Lord alone." 

11 mo. 16th, 1822: — "My dear companion and myself 
are about returning home, having endeavored to fulfil the 
will of our Heavenly Father, in an engagement of nearly 
eleven weeks, in visiting Friends and others in divers 
counties. We are very sensible of weakness belonging to 
us poor creatures, while we have to acknowledge to the 
dominion of the power of truth in most of the meetings. 



128 SARAH GRUBB. 

even in a marvellous and glorious degree. I never knew 
it so generally so in any former visit, more especially among 
those not professing with us. Sometimes these meetings 
have held long, and the longer the more solemn, while the 
doctrines of the Gospel have flow^ed freely ; and often I 
have had to say to the people, * Were I speaking to you 
from this time until midnight, and then to daybreak, it 
would all be to invite and gather to the influence which 
you now feel — the blessed power and presence of God. 
Let us sit under the heavenly canopy in reverent stillness, 
a little while, and feel its preciousness, beyond w^hat words 
can set forth ; ' and so it has been many a time. Oh ! for 
ever praised and exalted be Israel's Almighty Helper. 
He is doing much, while He convinces us that without 
Him we are nothing, and can do nothing." 

. The letters of Sarah Grubb bear frequent testimony to 
her entire dependence on Divine help in the work of the 
ministry, and to the renewed exercise of mind through 
which she w^as led, as a preparation for each successive 
service required of her. So that her preaching was truly 
not with the words of man's wisdom, but in the demon- 
stration of the Spirit and of power. In writing to Mary 
Davis, 10 mo. 13th, 1829, she says: "Oh! how have I 
feared for that cause which it has been my engagement to 
advocate so publicly ! In what condition have I many 
times gone to those very meetings which I considered my- 
self constrained to appoint! Alas! I have thought, that 
did the people know my entire emptiness and want of all. 
things, except the least and almost imperceptible grain of 
faith, they surely would not come to meet me. Multitudes 
have indeed attended on these occasions, ignorant, totally 
so, of my helpless state, without the renewed, holy influ- 
ence of that anointing which teacheth all things, by which 
even so poor and mean an instrument as myself has been 
assisted to evidence or bear testimony to the truths of the 



SARAH GRUBB. 129 

everlasting, unchangeable Gospel ; yea, in the demonstra- 
tion of the eternal Spirit of God, and with that power 
which is of and from this source." 

" Lexden, 8 mo. 15th, 1834 : — I may tell, my true, sym- 
pathizing friend, that I never experienced more of the 
living poAver of truth, in the exercise of the gift bestowed, 
than since coming down here this time ; from meeting to 
meeting it has been so, with scarcely an exception. I have 
indeed been a wonder to myself; for no one could sit down 
more empty, or a greater blank : and oh ! the word would 
come, like the bubbling up of a well of living water, or 
like the flowing tide ; and then again, when it receded, I 
was dry as the sand on the sea-shore." 

Though she had to partake of the sufferings of Christ, 
for His body's sake, the church, as the preceding extracts 
testify, yet she could at the same time bear witness to the 
abundant goodness of God, and to the joy and satisfac- 
tion which true religion brings with it. In a letter written 
near the close of life, dated 8 mo. 30th, 1840, she says: 
" It is not suffering alone which Infinite Wisdom dispenses 
to His own ; their consolations abound likewise, and I 
fully believe that the truly dedicated, lowly followers of 
the crucified Immanuel, would not barter their privileges, 
and peace, and rest in the souFs Beloved, for all the ease, 
the fleshly indulgence, the transient joy and gratification 
of such as seek their ' good things ' in this life, too regard- 
less of pursuing the one thing needful." 

" 1841. Oh ! my dear, there is a resting-place for us in 
this wearisome world, even the holy bosom of Him who 
*hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.' What 
a mercy ! It seems to me that the Scripture is in some 
measure verified, even to me 'Ye shall go out with joy, 
and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills 
shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees 
of the field shall clap their hands.' I have had deep 

I 



130 SARAH GRUBB. 

baptisms, but there is occasion to adopt the precious lan- 
guage, * Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ/'' 

When about thirty years of age she was married to 
John Grubb, a worthy Friend and minister of the Gospel. 

During the first fifteen years of married life, the home 
of John and Sarah Grubb was in Ireland. They then 
removed to England, from a sense of religious duty ; and 
continued there, with some change of residence, till re- 
moved from this state of existence. The husband w^as 
taken away in the 5 mo., 1841 ; and the wife a few months 
afterward. Her last illness was of nine weeks' duration. 
The following narrative of the closing experiences of this 
devoted Christian is condensed from an account kept by 
her children ; 

" She suffered much at the beginning, but expressed a 
hope of recovery ; evidently, however, desiring it more 
for our sakes than her own ; and saying, one day, after 
some anticipations of returning strength, ' But I think I 
have not been one day without resignation.' 

" Alluding to her suffering illness, when sending a mes- 
sage to a friend, she said, ' Tell her I call these the hail- 
stones, but I believe they have all passed through the 
righteous balances.' Also, ' In searching myself, I do not 
find anything laid to my charge — no condemnation. 
There are things I do not forgive myself, but I hope, 
through adorable mercy, to be forgiven.' On being asked 
one morning, how she had passed the night, she said, 'Out 
of heaven I could not have been quieter. It was all peace, 
peace,' and added, ' It seemed almost as if my dear Sa- 
viour condescended to converse with me ; and oh ! the 
sweetness, the meekness of His spirit.' Another time, 
something fresh in the way of nourishment having been 
offered to her, she said, * I have been thinking of being 
fed with the finest of the wheat. Everything that human 



SARAH GRUBB. 131 

ingenuity can devise seems to be done for me, but all of 
no use.' ' Well ! though my heart and my strength fail- 
eth, the Lord is (still) my delight, and my portion for- 
ever — That forever,' 

" About ten days before the close, she expressed a wish 
to have us all at her bedside, when she spoke to us nearly 
as follows : — * At first I thought I should recover from 
this illness, but now it seems as if I must quite give my- 
self up. You see that everything in nature points that 
way. . When I got worse about three weeks ago, I went 
down very deep in my spirit, and I said, " Oh ! my Heav- 
enly Father, is it thy will to take me now, or at some 
other time ? " and it was answered, " Whether I take thee 
now, or at some other time, be thou ready ; " and I said, 
" Oh ! but it is a very awful thin'g to die," (and it is an 
awful thing). Then it was said, " Fear not, I can make 
hard things easy ; and what more is there for thee to do?" 
So it was shown me there was nothing left to do, nothing 
more to do ; and my rejoicing is unspeakable, that my 
children are resigned.' 

"The next day after the deeply affecting occasion just 
described, our beloved mother spoke in a sweet and strik- 
ing manner to her medical attendant, for whom she had a 
sincere regard. He inquired if her position was comfort- 
able. ' Oh ! ' she said, * I hardly ever lie comfortably, but 
I 'm very comfortable in myself. Ah ! creeds and forms 
and a literal faith, will do nothing for us. We must give 
up our own wills entirely, and become like little children : 
it is the only way we can enter the kingdom. I have known 
no other religion all my life than the will of God ; and now, 
whether I live or die, I shall be with my dear Saviour.' 

" For nearly the last twenty-four hours our precious 
parent was in a kind of sleep, from which it was plain she 
would wake only in death ; and about one o'clock, on the 
16th of the 3d mo., 1842, she breathed her last." 



132 SAKAH GRUBB. 

A letter addressed to her dear friend, Mary Capper, 
points out the way in which we are made partakers of the 
benefit of the death and sufferings of Christ, on whose 
atoning sacrifice she so fully relied. In it she says : " I am 
glad that thou canst so fully subscribe to the ' anointing 
which is truth, and is no lie ; ' the unction from the Holy 
One, as an internal evidence manifested in the soul. What 
shall we do, if we suffer ourselves to be drawn from this 
blessed Spirit of the Saviour of men, or the measure of it 
which is given to all, for our profit ? Where, but within 
our own hearts, shall we find the Comforter and the safe 
Guide? Surely the Holy Scriptures direct us to Christ 
within, the hope of Glory ; but now we are told, that in 
looking for inward direction, we subject ourselves to error ; 
and that the Gospel is to be found in the scriptures, where 
there is * clear, comprehensible truth,' and 'a direct mes- 
sage from God.' True, the scriptures come by inspiration 
from God, yet, in my view, the same inspiration must be 
with us, to give us to comprehend their spiritual meaning 
and application ; because the natural man, by all his head 
knowledge and finite capacity, even though he may com- 
pare scripture with scripture, and acknowledge to their 
harmony, is, nevertheless, the natural or unregenerate 
man still, without' the operations of the Spirit in his soul ; 
even that which is the Divine gift to all men, and which, 
I conceive, brings all who adhere to it, into a converted 
state, whether they be favored with the inspired writings, 
which tell of the blessed and holy Kedeemer, or whether 
they be ignorant of them. Must it not be our experience, 
in order to partake of the benefit of the death and suflferings 
of Christ, to be brought into obedience unto righteousness? 
and what can do this for us, but the power of God, or 
name of Jesus, which is immediately made known to us 
by inward revelation thereof?" 



MARY' CAPPER. 133 



MART CAPPER. 

Mary Capper was born in Staffordshire, England, in 
1755, and closed her lengthened pilgrimage in 1845, in 
the ninety-first year of her age. She was brought up as a 
member of the Church of England by her parents, who 
were greatly grieved, when, in the unfoldings of religious 
duty, she felt drawn to adopt the more simple and un- 
ceremonious manner of worship which she found among 
Friends. In after years she wrote some account of her 
religious experience. In this she says : " I was at times, 
and many times in early life, very thoughtful as to the 
genuine effect of religion on the mind. My constitution 
was weak, which I have considered one among other 
favors ; for my nature was volatile, and I Avas much left 
as to outward restraints ; and, indeed, urged to go to public 
amusements, plays, dances, etc., which were considered 
innocent. The first contrary impression that I distinctly 
remember was once, whilst on my knees, at my accus- 
tomed evening prayers ; my thoughts being confused and 
dissipated, I lay down comfortless, believing that whatever 
distracted and hindered prayer must be wrong. This im- 
pression rested with me, and from time to time led to 
deep reflection and secret conflict. The witness for truth 
left me not ; and as little sacrifices, such as declining gay 
parties, seemed to yield a peaceful calm, I was favored 
with resolution to persevere. . . . One occasion I think I 
cannot forget, because it is sealed by mercy and by experi- 
ence to this day; though the thing was, in itself, compara- 
tively little, and I was then young. Being tempted to 
take some fruit, in a garden where I was unobserved, and 
being on the point of gathering it, a sudden check arrested 
me. I cannot distinctly describe it, but I walked from 
the spot with a sweetness of inward peace indescribable, 
12 



134 MARY CAPPER. 

such as I think I had never before known ; and it arose in 
my heart, and has remained in my understanding ; this 
is the teaching of the grace of God, or, in other words, of 
the Holy Spirit! This, we had been taught to believe, 
would enable us to overcome evil ; but it is not sufficiently 
understood, and when gently developed in the still small 
voice, it is frequently not obeyed ; and the quick sense of 
its secret monitions becomes less discernible.'' 

About the time she came of age, she spent nearly a 
year in France, one of the motives for which was probably 
her very delicate health. On her way there, she came to 
London, where she remained several weeks visiting some 
of her relations. Her brother, Jasper, who resided there, 
had become attached to the Society of Friends, which he 
ultimately joined, and he introduced her to some of his 
acquaintances. Among these were Dr. and Mary Knowles, 
and she thus describes a visit she made to them : " We 
had much serious conversation, in which my heart was in- 
terested ; the doctor and his wife explained the benefit aris- 
ing from silent meetings, which I am convinced must be 
very great ; we are then freed from all external objects, 
and wait upon the Lord in silent submission ; which must 
doubtless be a far more acceptable sacrifice than those 
forms of prayer that are repeated by the lips when the 
heart is far from God. This silent meditation is certainly 
an excellent preparation for vocal prayer." 

" 26th. Went with my brother, Jasper, to the Quakers' 
meeting, and was exceedingly pleased with one of the female 
preachers. There was silence nearly an hour and a half, 
in which time I was prepared to receive instruction, and 
I felt the force of what I heard. Returned to our lodg- 
ings well satisfied with silent worship." 

The memoranda made by her while in France show the 
thoughtful turn of her mind. Li one of them she speaks 
of going to the evening Roman Catholic service, and says : 



MARY CAPPER. 135 

" I was very near the door, and could not see all the cere- 
monies, but I saw enough to excite surprise. * My God,' 
thought I, ' that such a number of persons, seemingly dis- 
posed to serve thee, should imagine that thou art pleased 
with the burning of incense and the lifting up of hands ! * 
The sacrifice of an humble spirit is far more acceptable 
to our God, who designs that we should worship Him in 
Spirit." 

" Am very undetermined about attending a large party 
to the play and a masked ball. Had I only my inclina- 
tion to consult, I should not hesitate a moment in refusing ; 
but my refusal is considered as a stubborn resolution to be 
singular — this is a character that I am by no means de- 
sirous of, and many ideas rush into my mind, to vindicate 
a compliance with the wishes of others ; but, on the other 
hand, I am, from experience, convinced that these noisy 
diversions intoxicate the mind, enfeeble it, and render it 
incapable of performing the duties for which we were born. 
I presume not to judge for others, but for myself, I find 
it necessary to guard .against the tumultuous joys of the 
world." 

" 28th. Boulogne. Arrived in the afternoon ; dressed, 
and sallied forth to spend the evening at an English lady's. 
When we arrived, all the party were at cards, to which we 
also sat down. While we played, a circumstance occurred 
which made me feel in a way that I cannot describe. The 
sacrament which is carried to the sick, and is always an- 
nounced by the ringing of a hand-bell, passed by the win- 
dows. The company being mostly French, threw down 
their cards, knelt and prayed for a few minutes, and then 
set to cards again. I mean not to censure them — they may 
act up to their judgment and feelings ; but I must confess 
it would appear to me very presumptuous to address the 
great Almighty in a form of words, at a time when the 
mind was interested in affairs so trifling — so inconsistent 



136 MARY CAPPER. 

with that awful sense with which we ought to present our- 
selves, when disposed to offer prayer." 

After her return home in 1777, she writes : " An ohvious 
change took place in my manners, etc., so as to attract 
observation. The ceremonies of the church where I at- 
tended with my parents and the family, affected me in a 
very unusual manner. Sometimes I wept, and sometimes 
had to be taken out nearly fainting. I had then no in- 
tention of making any change in my religious profession ; 
but my dear mother's disappointment was keen, when, in 
process of time, I felt that I could not conform to what 
I had been taught was necessary to salvation ; and kept 
much retired, without attending any place of worship." 

In 1781 she went to reside with her brother James, who 
was a minister in the Episcopal Church, and whom she 
greatly esteemed. While there, the time came for the 
administration, in its usual course, of what is termed the 
Lord's Supper. She says : *^ It had been on former occa- 
sions a solemn ceremony of peculiar comfort to my long- 
ing soul ; and I had much conflict and prayer that I might 
be satisfied whether the outward and visible sign was 
important to salvation. With reverence, deep humility, 
and fear, I received the bread and wine. I do not recol- 
lect that any observation was made on my being evidently 
agitated. I sought no human counsel, but the satisfactory, 
abiding instruction on my own mind was, that the inward 
and spiritual grace, of which this was only the visible 
sign, must be something of a higher nature, not depend- 
ent upon uncertain means. The best of teachers was 
pleased to calm and quiet my mind on this important 
subject, and I no more repeated the ceremony ; but these 
convictions and changes were no light matters to me." 

In 1782 she removed to London, and from that time 
regularly attended the meetings of Friends. " Not," as 
she says, '*that I was acquainted with their peculiar 



MARY CAPPER. 137 

religious views ; indeed there seemed to be a prohibition 
of aught but simple evidence and obedience." "About this 
time, in consequence of my decided resolution to attend 
the meetings of Friends, my dear father (no doubt in 
faithfulness to his own religious views, and from the de- 
sire to rescue a poor child from apprehended error) re- 
quested me not to return to the parental roof, unless I 
could be satisfied to conform to the religious education 
which he had conscientiously given me. This, with a 
tender, heart-piercing remonstrance from my dear, dear 
mother, was far more deeply felt than I can describe; 
and marvellous in my view, even to this day, was the 
settled, firm belief that I must follow on to know the 
soul's salvation for myself; truly in a way that I knew 
not!'' 

This period of Mary Capper's life was seldom, if ever, 
alluded to by her without much emotion. The conflict 
was distressing ; yet was she strengthened to persevere in 
what was clearly manifested to be the path of duty. Her 
father's last illness was sudden and short ; and she was 
deprived of the consolation of again seeing him, and of 
receiving from his own lips an assurance of affection. In 
these afflictions, she was enabled to commit her cause unto 
Him, for whom she had forsaken her earthly home and 
parents ; and He was pleased to speak peace to her afflicted 
soul. In a memorandum dated 6th of 9th month, 1783, 
she thus records her gratitude. " Praise the Lord, oh ! 
my soul, and be exceeding glad in the God of thy salva- 
tion ; for He hath done great things for thee, and won- 
derful is His power ! He hath plucked thy feet out of 
the mire and clay, and hath set them upon a rock — the 
only true foundation, throughout all ages, to the end of 
the world ! My spirit is exceedingly glad that the Lord 
hath heard the prayers of His handmaiden, and in great 
mercy granted my earnest request. He hath strengthened 
12* 



138 MARY CAPPER. 

me to part with all the nearest and dearest of His gifts ; 
to sit loose from the tenderest connections, that I may be 
free to fulfil the great command of loving the Lord my 
God, with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all 
my strength.'^ 

The trials above related were not the only ones which 
Mary Capper had to endure about this period of her 
life. She had formed a strong attachment to a young man 
Friend to whom she expected to be married, when she 
discovered that he did not set a high value on his mem- 
bership in the Society of Friends, and that he was in- 
clined for more liberty in practice than their principles 
allowed of. This was a most painful discovery to her ; 
and, as further communication with him proved to her 
that he was one who could not fully enter into-her religious 
feelings and views, she felt it to be her duty to break off 
the connection, though it nearly cost her her life ; and 
she could never afterwards entertain the prospect of 
matrimony. 

She was received into membership with the Society of 
Friends about the year 1785, and spoke as a minister in 
their meetings soon after that event. With respect to the 
latter circumstance, she writes : " It sometimes arose in 
my mind, that possibly I might have to tell unto others, 
how I had been taught, and kept from the broad way of 
destruction ; and a few words arising, with something of 
unusual power, I think at the Peel meeting, I stood up and 
spoke them, and felt very quiet ; nor did I anticipate that 
such a thing might ever be required again ; and thus I 
was led on, from time to time, not knowing but each time 
might be the last." 

In a letter written in 1785, she thus describes the man- 
ner in which she had been led by the Spirit of the Lord. 
" Since our conversation this afternoon, I have had to* re- 
member, in a very lively manner the Lord's dealings with 



MARY CAPPER. 139 

my soul in early life. I was at times visited with a sweet 
sense of purity and truth ; but from my situation and 
mode of education, I was at a loss how to come at that 
which my soul seemed to see at a distance. For several 
years the prospect was, as it were, closed, or very rarely 
opened. I thought myself a useless being, and I believe 
sometimes almost repined that I was born ; but about the 
twenty- third year of my age, the Lord graciously revisited 
my soul ; and it w^as, indeed, as the dry and barren wilder- 
ness refreshed with dew. I think I cannot forget the sweet 
incomes of divine favor. The whole creation seemed new 
to me ; all things spoke the love and mercies of a gracious 
God. Scarcely a day passed over witliout some sweet 
openings, some renewal of my great Master's condescen- 
sion. I thought myself the happiest of human creatures. 
Thus delectably did the God of all my mercies allure me 
into the wilderness! Every required sacrifice seemed 
ready prepared by His own hand, and I had only to wait 
His own time. . . . But what seems more immediately to 
dwell upon my mind to communicate to thee is, that I 
have in my measure, found that the Lord's merciful deal- 
ings stir up the envy and malice of our grand enemy, 
when our gracious Father is pleased to hide His counte- 
nance and try our faith, after having sweetly led us in the 
right way. Then is the enemy as one triumphing over his 
prey. Oh ! how is he permitted to buffet, to terrify the 
poor, timid soul ! My mind has sometimes been as one 
almost without hope ; and had not the hand of the Lord 
been underneath, I had surely fainted ; but my spiritual 
eye was led to retrace the paths I had trod, and I was 
favored to see the Lord's dealings, and that tribulations 
were appointed to the faithful followers of a crucified 
Jesus." 

During many years much of Mary Capper's time was 
employed in the exercise of the gift of Gospel ministry, 



140 MARY CAPPER. 

which had been committed to her. The following extracts 
from her memoranda evince the watchful, tender state of 
mind in which she was kept. " In the evening, when 
gathered to read the Scriptures, during our silent waiting 
on God, a feeling of awful seriousness spread over us, and 
tendered our spirits, so that w^e all wept ; and in broken- 
ness it was acknowledged that there surely is encourage- 
ment to believe, and under all trials humbly to trust in 
the Lord. It was a time of renewed favor, and ability 
was granted to return vocal thanks to the Giver of all 
our mercies." 

" We had some sweet portions of reading after break- 
fast, and a silent desire arose to be strengthened to live 
and abide in the purifying, redeeming Spirit of the Sa- 
viour. It seems a growing experience with me, that there 
are favored seasons when a deep inward sense of the work 
of sanctification and redemption seals the lips in solemn 
silence." 

As an illustration of her simple faithfulness to duty, it 
may be mentioned that in advanced life she adopted the 
principle of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors. 
She was induced to take this step from the reflection that 
many had been led into habits of intemperance who be- 
gan with a moderate use of such drinks ; and she resolved 
that no one should be able to plead her example for tak- 
ing them at all. At the time she left them off*, she was 
upwards of eighty years of age, and in the practice of 
taking a single glass of wine daily with her dinner. Hav- 
ing been for many years unable to take animal food, this 
glass of wine had been thought almost essential to her 
existence, especially as she had been accustomed to it from 
an early period of her life. In making this change, she 
expected to have something to suffer, and that she might 
probably have to endure a greater sense of feebleness 
during the remainder of her days ; but the welfare of 



MARY CAPPER. 141 

those bj whom she was surrounded, and on whom her 
example might have some influence, she considered to be 
of much greater importance. On making the trial, she 
was however agreeably disappointed ; for though she felt 
some languor for a few days, she soon became sensible of 
an increase of strength, and was more vigorous without 
the wine than she had been with it. 

Mary Capper was a firm believer in the atoning sacri- 
fice of the Redeemer, and her reliance was on the mercy 
of God, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Yet this faith was not that dead faith, of which the 
Apostle James speaks; but was closely connected with 
that practical submission to the Spirit of Christ, which 
is the onij test of its reality. Her letters and papers 
bear frequent testimony to her views on this subject. 

" In the morning meeting, I found relief, in the expres- 
sion of my firm belief in Christ crucified, as the Recon- 
ciler of fallen man to the favor of God ; that in Him, our 
glorified Saviour, we have redemption and acceptance 
with the Father ; and that there is no other foundation 
than this which is already laid.'^ 

In one of her letters to a friend, she thus points out 
her view as to the way in which we are made possessors 
of the redemption thus purchased by Christ. " Though 
I have seen and felt much evil, nevertheless my quickened 
spirit can often praise the Lord, my Redeemer, and speak 
well of His name. His Light and Love are revealed in 
the heart, and being obeyed, there is understanding given 
to walk in the way that leads to pure peace, putting to 
silence all unavailing speculations, doubts, and perplexi- 
ties which disturb the wavering mind. Sweet is such a 
foretaste of rest, prepared for the people of God ; of every 
age, nation, and denomination, who are brought to re- 
ceive the heavenly gift of the kingdom, as docile chil- 
dren." 



142 MARY CAPPER. 

" Strength was given to point out the difference between 
mere profession with the lip and tongue, and that conver- 
sion or change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit re- 
vealed in the soul. It is not enough to confess that Christ 
died for sinners ; we must receive Him, and own Him by 
obedience, as a Saviour, a Redeemer from sin, and a 
Leader into all righteousness." 

In her eightieth year she wrote as follows : " For many 
years, under a variety of outward changes or events, the 
secret, progressive work (may I not say, the genuine power 
of pure religion) was preparing the way for clearer views 
respecting the soul's salvation. In these babe-like days, 
whatever I found to obstruct daily prayer — lowly suppli- 
cation at the throne of mercy, seemed in my vifew sinful, 
and must be overcome. Verily I have found it, and I do 
still find it, a wrestling warfare ! The new birth is a 
marvellous work. A complete spiritual creation, with all 
things new, is not wrought by the reasoning powers of 
the natural man. God the Father reveals the Son in us, 
as the Light, the Life, the Way ; and gives us power to 
believe in Him also as the atoning sacrifice for sin, 
whereby we have access to a reconciled God and uni- 
versal Father. This spiritual view of salvation, as set 
forth in the Scriptures, and abundantly testified by the 
faithful of former generations, — this atoning sacrifice, 
this Way of redemption, (begun, carried on, and per- 
fected for me and in me,) is the rock and ground of my 
Christian faith, and of my hope of acceptance, when 
this mortal shall put on immortality. My simple, yet 
reverent testimony is to the marvellous love of God in 
Christ Jesus, as the guide of youth, and the staff of 
lengthened years, to those who acknowledge Him in all 
their ways. My heart rests in the belief that these will 
not be left to perish through ignorance. Obedience is 
the test of our sincerity. Acknowledge God in all thy 



MARY CAPPER. 143 

ways, and He will direct thy steps aright, from youth to 
old age." 

Having through a long life endeavored with much hu- 
mility and faithfulness to follow this guide and lean upon 
this staff, she was prepared to receive the summons of 
her removal from this state of existence with peaceful 
gratitude. Her last illness was but of few days' duration. 
On the 18th of 5th mo., 1845, she was at meeting and 
engaged in vocal ministry. During the few remaining 
days of her life she seemed peculiarly peaceful, and full 
of love and gratitude. The exclamation, " goodness, 
mercy, and power ! " was frequently on her lips. Pre- 
vious to settling for the night on the 22d, she requested 
her faithful attendant to read in the Scriptures to her as 
usual. The 14th chapter of John came in course, which 
was very congenial to her feelings, and she said she could 
not have heard a more beautiful chapter, exclaiming, 
" Oh, how beautiful, to go to a mansion prepared for us ! " 
and afterwards she appeared to be fervently engaged in 
silent prayer. She then spoke of her unworthiness ; that 
she had no merit of her own, but that it was all of the 
Lord's mercy. 

During the night she was much engaged in prayer, 
and the words " Oh, Father ! " often escaped her lips. 
She remarked to her servant, that she would be rewarded 
for her affectionate kindness to her, both here and in 
heaven. 

About eight o'clock in the morning of the 23d, she 
proposed having her knitting, and endeavored to put on 
he^ spectacles, but the powers of the frail tabernacle were 
failing, and she speedily and gently passed away — to enter, 
as her friends reverently believed, into that mansion pre- 
pared for her by the Saviour, where, clothed in the spot- 
less robe of His righteousness, she is uttering the anthem 
of praise. 



144 STEPHEN CRISP. 



STEPHEN CRISP. 

There are few more instructive narratives, to those who 
are earnestly seeking the way to salvation, than that left 
by Stephen Crisp, of Colchester, England, who ended 
his earthly course in the year 1692. He commences his 
Journal with the ascription of praise to the Lord for His 
goodness. "For," he says, "so soon as I can remember, 
and so soon as I was capable of understanding. He made 
me to understand that which consented not to any evil, 
but stood in my soul as a witness against all evil ; and 
manifested that I should not lie nor steal, or be stubborn, 
or disobedient, but should behave myself in meekness and 
quietness, and set truth before me as that which was better 
than falsehood. This same witness, even in the days of 
my childhood, ministered peace and boldness to me, when 
I hearkened to the counsel of it ; but there was a contrary 
nature and seed in me, that was of this world, and not of 
God, which inclined unto evil, and unto the way and man- 
ner of this evil world, as most of all suiting the carnal 
mind ; and an eye began to open in me that saw what was 
acceptable with man rather than what was well-pleasing 
to God. 

" And that eye being daily ministered unto by the vari- 
ous objects and examples of vanity, a delight sprung up 
in that which was evil, and my senses became exercised 
with vanity, by which the pure seed became oppressed 
and grieved from day to day, and began to cry out against 
me; and condemnation began to be stirred up in me, and 
fear entered where before no fear was, and the pure inno- 
eeucy was lost. And then, having at any time done or 
spoken any evil, the Light, or pure principle in me, would 
manifest it to me, and show me that I ought not so to have 



STEPHEN CRISP. 145 

done. I felt condemnation, which how to escape I knew 
not. 

" When I was but about twelve years old, my general 
and constant cry was after the power by which I might 
overcome corruptions ; and although I heard the teachers 
of those times daily saying, none could live without sin, 
and the doctrine of perfection holden as a dangerous error, 
yet that did not abate ray cry ; though indeed it did often 
weaken my belief of obtaining, and so made my prayer 
almost faithless and without success. But I knew that 
without the power of God I must perish, let them say 
what they would, and I could not reckon myself saved 
while I was captivated with a corrupt and rebellious 
nature, let them all say what they could. I remembered 
the words of Christ, * He that committeth sin is the ser- 
vant of sin,' and that I knew I was. 

" As for the priests and professors of those times, the 
most of them would boast of experiences, and of zeal, and 
of assurances of the love of God, and what comfort they 
enjoyed by thinking or meditating of the suffering of 
Christ for their sins, etc. Alas ! thought I, I could think 
of these things as well as you, but my wound still remains 
fresh, and I see that I am as one of the crucifiers, while I 
live in sin, for which He died. 

" My soul longed after some other kind of knowledge 
of Him than that which was to be attained by reading, 
for I saw that the worst as well as the best could attain to 
that. 

" I now began to find out the meetings of those then called 
Separatists, and to hear their gifted men, so called, whose 
doctrine, I took notice, savored more of zeal and fervency 
than most of the priests did, neither did I see them so 
covetous to make a gain of preaching, not being yet come 
to see how they coveted greatness and applause of men. 

" I was often affected with their preachings, but still the 
13 K 



146 STEPHEN CRISP. 

former bond was upon me, and they yet strengthened it, 
to wit, that if I were not elected, I could not be saved, 
and how I might know, no man could tell me to my satis- 
faction. The fear of this would often dash my comfort, 
and then I began to take notice of the loose walking of 
such Separatists, yea, even of the teachers among them ; 
how that they were not yet redeemed from foolish jesting, 
from idle words, from anger and passion. I also saw how 
unconstant they were, sometimes letting in one doctrine, 
sometimes another, tossed with winds; but not a word 
could I hear how I might obtain power over sin. 

" I began when I was about seventeen or eighteen years 
of age to seek yet further ; and hearing of a people that 
held forth the death of Christ for all men, I went to hear 
them, and after some time I came to see that there was 
more light and a clearer understanding of the Scriptures 
among them than among the former. So I began to be 
conversant with them, and frequent in their meetings, and 
came to be established in that belief, that there was a dear 
Son of hope, and way or means of salvation prepared for 
all people, and none positively by any eternal decree ex- 
cluded, as by name or person, but as unbelievers and dis- 
obedient. 

" This ministered comfort a while, and I set myself to 
believe, and to get faith in Christ, and to reckon myself a 
believer ; and found it a hard work, even too hard for me, 
though I cried aloud many times to have my unbelief helped. 
When I saw sin prevail over me, alas ! said I, where is 
that faith that purifies the heart and giveth victory? 
Mine is not such. Then would the pure witness of God 
arise and testify against me for my sin, and the more my 
understanding was enlarged, the sharper was my judg- 
ment. 

" I began to lose my tenderness of conscience, which I 
had had, and began to take pleasure in the company of 



STEPHEN CRISP. 147 

the wicked, and in many things to become like them, and 
came to be captivated more than ever with mirth and 
jollity. I often would sing, when I had cause to howl 
and mourn, and fell to gaming and pastime, and presumed 
upon the mercy of God, and had a secret belief that God 
would one day manifest His power, and bring me out of 
this state. 

" This kind of life went on for a season, about two or 
three years, until a weariness came upon me thereby. 
Many times in the very midst of all my mirth, the hand 
of the Lord would be heavy upon me, and His righteous 
judgments would kindle in me, and put a stop to my 
course, and then I would lament me in secret, and some- 
times complain to others of my sore captivity and slavery 
to sin. 

" Willing to do anything to find the power [of forsak- 
ing sin] I took up that ordinance, as they called it, of 
water baptism, expecting then to have found power more 
than before. My will wrought strongly to bridle and keep 
down that airy part and sinful nature, and for a season 
strove to uphold and maintain myself to be in a better 
state than before, though the virtue that should sanctify 
and wash me I did not feel, my mind being abroad ; and 
the reasons that kept me were not the operation of the 
pure love of God in my heart, and His grace prevailing 
in me to teach me but rather an eye to the reputation of 
my religion, and that I might not seem to have run and 
acted all in vain. 

" These reasons held but for a season, before the temp- 
tation grew too strong for my will, and the devil entered 
his own grounds, and prevailed upon me, and led me cap- 
tive into sin and evil, and drew me into vain company, 
and vain sports, and delights, and pastimes again as be- 
fore. Then I sufficiently saw I wanted what I wanted 
before, and had grasped but at a shadow, and catched 



148 STEPHEN CRISP. 

nothing but wind, and that ray baptism was short of 
John's, who did indeed baptize with a baptism of repent- 
ance, and prepared the way of the Lord, and made His 
path straight. But mine did not so much, and therefore 
was much more short of the baptism of Christ, in which 
the fire was to be found that should burn up what was 
offensive to God and grieved His Holy Spirit ; and then 
fill me with His Spirit, which takes delight in nothing 
that is corrupt. 

" This baptism I saw was wanting, and therefore a dis- 
satisfaction began to grow up in me, both of myself and 
of my way ; and I testified unto the elders, so called, of 
the church, that God would shortly overturn all our wor- 
ships and religions, which stood in outward and carnal 
things, and would make known some way a-top of them 
all, that should stand forever. 

" About those days many exercised themselves in talk- 
ing and discoursing of a people called Quakers, after 
whom I listened, but though I hearkened with great dili- 
gence, I could hear no good report of them, but much 
harm, and many false and wicked lies were cast upon 
them ; only this I took notice of, that they suffered cruel 
mockings and grievous sufferings patiently. I did expect 
that when the way of God was made manifest, it would 
be hated and persecuted ; yet I thought that I should not 
at all deter or affidght me from owning it, and walking in 
it if I once knew it. But forasmuch as I heard they held 
perfection in this life, that was a thing the old wisdom of 
the serpent could not reach or join with, but I reasoned 
against it strongly. 

" But a messenger of this truth I had not seen, but 
longed much to see one, wishing night and day that our 
parts might be visited by them, as I had heard others 
were. At last the Lord sent His faithful servant and 
messenger of His everlasting gospel, James Parnel, to 



STEPHEN CRISP. 149 

our town of Colchester, about the 4th mo., 1655, and in the 
twenty-seventh year of my age, who came in the name 
and power of the Most High God, in which he turned 
many to righteousness, both there and in other countries 
before, of whom some remain, and many are fallen asleep. 

" When I saw this man, being but a youth, and knew 
not the power or spirit that was in him, I thought to with- 
stand him, and began to query and seek discourse with 
him ; but I quickly came to feel [that] the spirit of sound 
judgment was in him, and the witness of God arose in 
me, and testified to his judgment, and signified I must 
own it, it being just and true. That day I went to a 
meeting, and heard him declare the everlasting Gospel in 
the name and authority of the Lord, which I could not 
with all my wisdom and knowledge withstand, but was 
constrained to own and confess unto the truth. 

"Here at the very first of my convincement did the 
enemy of my soul make tiial to slay me, and that after 
this manner : that seeing my wisdom and reason were 
overcome by the truth, I could not therewith withstand 
it, therefore I received the truth, and held it in the same 
part with which I withstood it^ and defended it with the 
same wisdom by which I resisted it, and so was yet a 
stranger to the cross that was to crucify me ; and was at 
liberty in the discoursative spirit, to lay out my wits and 
parts for the truth. But I soon felt my sacrifice (though 
I ofiered the best my earth would afford) was not accepted, 
but something else was still called for. 

" In this state I continued a month or two, but then a 
swift sword was drawn against that wisdom and compre- 
hending mind, and a strong hand gave the stroke, and I 
was hewn down like a tall cedar that at once comes to the 
ground. 

" My tongue or pen cannot express the sorrows of those 
days, in which I sat me down in silence, fear, and aston- 
13^ 



150 STEPHEN CRISP. 

ishment, and was encompassed with sorrow and darkness. 
I knew none to make m j moan unto. I heard of joy and 
salvation, but could scarcely think that ever I should be a 
partaker of it ; I still wanting that living faith which, the 
apostle said, was of the operation of God, who raised up 
Jesus, the true seed, which seed I still felt groaning in 
me to be delivered from the burden of sin, and from the 
oppression of the carnal mind. 

" After long travail, strong cries, and many bitter tears 
and groans, I found a little hope springing in me, that the 
Lord in His own time would bring forth His seed — even 
His elect seed — the seed of His covenant, to rule in me. 
This was given me at a time when the sense of my own 
unworthiness had so overwhelmed me in sorrow and an- 
guish, that I thought myself unworthy of any of the crea- 
tures; forasmuch as I was out of the covenant of God, 
and hereupon was tempted to deny myself of them. Then 
did the hope of the resurrection of the just spring in me, 
and I was taught to wait on God, and to eat and drink in 
fear and watchfulness. 

" Upon a time, being weary of my thoughts in the meet- 
ing of God's people, I thought none was like me ; and it 
was but in vain to &it there with such a wandering mind 
as mine was, which though I labored to stay it, yet could 
not as I would. At length, I thought to go forth, and as 
I was going, the Lord thundered through me, saying, that 
which is weary must die. So I turned to my seat and 
waited in the belief of God, for the death of that part 
which was weary of the work of God, and grew more dili- 
gent in seeking death, that I might know how to put off 
the old man with his deeds, and words, and imaginations, 
his fashions and customs, his friendship and wisdom, and 
all that appertained to him ; and the cross of Christ was 
laid upon me, and I bore it. 

" As I came willingly to take it up, I found it to be to me 



STEPHEN CRISP. 151 

that thing which I had sought from my childhood — even 
the power of God — for by it I was crucified to the world, 
and it to me, which nothing else could ever do. But oh ! 
how glad was my soul when I had found the way to slay 
my soul's enemies. Oh ! the secret joy that was in me, in 
the midst of all my conflicts and combats. I had this 
confidence, if I but take up the cross, I shall obtain victory, 
for that is the power of God through faith to salvation ; 
and as I have found it so in some things, so I shall do in 
all in due time. Then the reproach of the Gospel became 
joyous to me ; though in those days it was very cruel and 
grievous to flesh and blood ; yet I despised it, and that for 
the joy that was now set before me, of which I had some 
hope I should in time be made a partaker, if I abode 
faithful. It was my great care night and day, to keep so 
low and out of the workings of my own will, that I might 
discern the mind of God, and do it, though in never so 
great a cross to my own. 

" Yet the enemy of my soul followed me close and very 
secretly, and taking notice how willing I was to obey the 
Lord, he strove to get up into the seat of God, and to 
move as an angel of light, to betray me, and to lead me 
into something that was like the service of God. Many 
sore conflicts did I meet withal before I was able in all 
things to distinguish the workings of the true Spirit and 
power, from that which was but transformed. But foras- 
much as I had now surely tasted of the love and goodness 
of God, I trusted in Him, and committed the keeping of 
my soul unto Him in singleness of heart. 

" The more I came to feel and perceive the love of God, 
and His goodness to flow forth upon me, the more I was 
humbled and bowed in my mind to serve Him, and the 
least of His people among whom I walked. As the word 
of wisdom began to spring in me, and the knowledge of 
God gre.w, so I became as a counsellor of them that were 



152 STEPHEN CRISP. 

tempted in like manner as I had been ; yet was kept so 
low that I waited to receive counsel daily from God, and 
from those that were over me in the Lord, and were in 
Christ before me, against whom I never rebelled nor was 
stubborn. But the more I was kept in subjection myself, 
the more subject were evil spirits made to me, and the 
more I was enabled to help the weak and feeble ones. 

" The Church of God in those days increased, and my 
care daily increased ; and the weight of things relating 
both to the outward and inward condition of poor Friends 
came upon me, and being called of God and His people 
to take the care of the poor, and to relieve their necessi- 
ties as I did see occasion ; I did it faithfully for divers 
years, with diligence and much tenderness, exhorting and 
reproving any that were slothful, and encouraging them 
that were diligent ; putting a difference according to the 
wisdom given me of God, and still minding my own state 
and condition, and seeking the honor that comes from God 
only. A cry was in me, to keep on my spiritual armor, 
for all enemies were not yet put under my feet ; so I kept 
my watch, not knowing well where tli^ enemy might ap- 
pear, but after a while I found his appearance once more 
to be very sharp, and that upon this occasion : 

"About the year 1659, I often felt the aboundings of 
the love of God in my heart, and a cry to stand given 
up to His will, which I thought I was, not knowing or 
foreseeing what the Lord was intending to do with me. 
But His eye saw further than mine. His love and ten- 
derness, and bowels of compassion wrought so in me, that 
it extended even to all men on the whole face of the 
earth, so that I cried in Spirit, oh, that all men knew 
thee and thy goodness! And upon a time, as I was 
waiting upon the Lord, His word arose in me, and com- 
manded me to forsake and part with my dear wife and 
children, father and mother, and to go and bear witness 



STEPHEN CRISP. 153 

to His name in Scotland, to that high professing nation. 
But when that came to pass, T found all enemies were not 
slain, indeed; for the strivings, strugglings, reasonings, 
and disputings against the command of God, that I 
then met with, cannot be told or numbered. Oh, how 
I w^ould have pleaded my own inability, the care of my 
family, my service in that particular meeting, and many 
more things, and all that I might have been excused from 
this one thing which was come upon me, that I thought 
not of, or looked not for. 

" After many reasonings, days and weeks by myself, I 
thought it best to speak of it to some of the faithful 
elders and ministers of the everlasting Gospel, not know- 
ing but they might discourage me, and something there 
was that hoped it; but, contrarily, they encouraged me, 
and laid it upon me to be faithful. Then I gave up, and 
acquainted my dear wife therewith. 

"As I went along in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, I 
quickly perceived the Lord was with me more than at 
other times, and my journey became joyful, and the more, 
in that though I w^as but weak, poor, and low, yet God 
gave me acceptance among the elders of His people, 
and in every place my testimony was owned, and divers 
were convinced of the everlasting truth. Then I mar- 
velled, and said, Lord, the glory alone belongs to thee, 
for thou hast wrought wonders for thy name's sake, and 
for thy holy Seed's sake. 

" In about five or six months' time, I was, by the good 
hand of God, brought home to my wife and children 
and relations ; in all my journey being sweetly accompa- 
nied wath the presence of the Lord, and His power often 
filled my earthen vessel and made my cup to overflow; 
praise forever be to His name, saith my soul." 

The preceding extracts show how thorough was the work 
of prei)aration through which Stephen Crisp passed, — a 



154 STEPHEN CRISP. 

preparation designed to fit him for extensive service in 
the cause of his Divine Master. He was largely en- 
gaged in various ways and eminently useful in the 
Church and in more private circles. After relating 
somewhat more of his exercises and labors, he thus 
speaks of his own state of mind : 

'*My soul grew daily in love with Zion, and there 
was nothing in all the world so desirable to me as the 
prosperity of the gospel, and the spreading and pub- 
lishing His name and truth through the earth. This 
love constrained me to travel with great diligence from 
country to country, to make known what God had done 
for my soul, and to publish the day of the Lord." 

His travels were not confined to Great Britain, but the 
care of the churches in Holland and adjacent parts of 
the continent of Europe, was much upon him ; and for 
a number of years he spent much time in those coun- 
tries, preaching the Gospel of Christ, and watching over 
and encouraging the flock in their trials and persecu- 
tions. In 1676, having visited many places and cities, 
he says: "I returned in the will of God to my own 
home, finding my body much decayed and disabled 
from travel and labor more than formerly, yet satis- 
fied in the will of God. who laid no more upon me 
than he gave me ability to perform ; and as He has 
always been abundant in goodness to me, so He is to 
this day, blessed be His name forever. This I can say, 
my delight is to do His will, and my joy is that He 
hath counted me worthy to bear His holy name and 
testimony among the sons and daughters of men.'' 

Of the following year, 1677, he remarks: "I con- 
tinued at and about home most of that winter, waiting 
upon the Lord to be led and guided in my service and 
testimony according to His will ; for I found that though 
through long experience, my senses were exercised in 



STEPHEN CRISP. 155 

the service of God and the churches, yet I had nothing 
to trust to, as a guide or leader, how and after what 
manner to minister in the church of Christ, but the 
same that led me in the beginning, €ven the imme- 
diate operation of the power that brings forth in the 
will of God all things suitable to their season, that 
the glory might be to the power, and the praises to 
Him that gives it, forever and forever more." 

This watchful care and simple dependence on Divine 
help and guidance, which is the place of safety and 
strength to the true servant of the Lord, is instructively 
manifested in another passage of Stephen Crisp's journal, 
which says : " Having visited some of the assemblies of 
the Lord's people in Hertfordshire and other places, and 
cleared myself of what lay upon me in the city, I re- 
turned to my place in the will of God, remaining as a 
servant waiting to be ordered, and as a child waiting to be 
fed of Him who is the Father and fountain of all my 
mercies, blessings, and deliverances, to whom be the glory 
forevermore." 

It was not in the church alone that this devoted ser- 
vant of His Lord was useful. He says: "I was exer- 
cised according to my ability ... in helping and assisting 
the Lord's people both in their spiritual and temporal 
concerns, as the Lord God of my life gave me an under- 
standing. For I gave up the ordering of my spirit unto 
Him, and He opened me in many things relating to 
the affairs of this world, that I might be as a staff 
to the weak in those things, and might stand by the 
widow and fatherless, and plead the right of the poor. 
In all of which I sought neither honor nor profit, but 
did all things freely, as I received of God, and He 
whom I served was my reward, so that I lacked noth- 
ing." 

Soon after his return in the fall of 1680 from one of 



156 STEPHEN CRISP. 

his frequent visits to the little flock in Holland, he says : 
"It pleased God to visit me with a sharp fever, which 
brought me in appearance nigh to the grave ; in which 
His presence was with me and supported me, and re-' 
freshed my soul many a time, so that death was not 
terrible to me; but I found myself quietly given up 
in the will of God, whether to live or die, I was con- 
tented. But after about ten days the fever was abated, 
and I perceived that my days would be yet added unto ; 
in which I was well satisfied, having a constant resolu- 
tion fixed in my soul, that whether my days be few or 
many, to spend them in the service of God and His 
dear people, who are to me as my mother, my brother, 
and my sister, yea, as my own children, finding a natural 
love in my heart to all my Father's children, and a true 
love to the brotherhood. And my God hath put it far 
from me to despise the case of the poor, or to respect 
the rich in judgment, but according to the gift and un- 
derstanding given me, I have walked with a straight 
foot in the Gospel; the honor of all, with the praise 
of all which, belongs alone to Him that hath wrought 
it, yea, His own work praiseth Him, and shall praise 
Him who is worthy, both now and forevermore." 

Stephen Crisp died in the year 1692, and his friends 
have left on record full and affectionate testimonies to 
his valuable labors in the cause of righteousness, and his 
zealous and tender spirit. One of these testimonies thus 
concludes: "For all which work's sake, he was much es- 
teemed, and was worthy of double honor ; and we doubt 
not but is clothed with a large share of honor, glory, 
and immortality with our God, which is the portion 
of all those that faithfully serve and honor the Lord 
in their day, as he did." 



CONCLUDING EEMAEKS. 157 



In reviewing the instructive records of their religious 
experience, which have been left as way-marks to succeed- 
ing generations, by these devoted servants of the Lord — 
and the number of such accounts might be greatly in- 
creased — while there is much variety in the attendant or 
peculiar circumstances, we find certain features which are 
common to all. 

The beginning of the work of religion was always in 
the impressions made on the soul by the Spirit of Christ. 
These impressions sometimes accompanied the advice and 
exhortations of concerned parents or friends, or the occur- 
rence of outward incidents which awakened the attention 
to serious things ; and sometimes arose without connection 
with any external events. They were various in their 
operations ; bringing a sense of condemnation for wrong- 
doing, or warning against things which were of evil ten- 
dency ; or spreading a feeling of solemnity over the mind, 
and melting it into tenderness. As the heart bowed in 
submission to these operations of the Spirit, and yielded 
itself fully to their influence, these Friends experienced 
the work of regeneration to take place in them ; and a 
sense of Divine love and favor was vouchsafed, to their 
great comfort and rejoicing. 

When, through un watchfulness and disobedience, these 
strivings of the Spirit were disregarded, a state of in- 
creasing hardness of heart followed ; in which, the Light 
of Christ shone on the darkness within as a condemning 
witness, bringing a sense of uneasiness and distress, instead 
of comfort and consolation. From this condition there 
was no way of return to the sensible enjoyment of Divine 
favor, until, by the renewed visitations and extendings of 
14 



158 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

help from the Spirit of Christ, a willingness was wrought 
in the mind to submit to the Divine will, and patiently 
to bear the judgments of the Lord. 

As true repentance was thus effected, and the soul 
turned in sincerity to the Light which revealed its fallen 
condition, it was made willing to endure the sense of con- 
demnation for its former evil actions, and to pass through 
the exercises and trials which were needful for its refine- 
ment, and for destroying the tendencies to evil which had 
become firmly rooted in it. In thus submitting to the 
discipline of the cross of Christ, an earnest cry was often 
raised, " Let not thine eye pity, nor thy hand spare, till 
thou hast brought forth judgment unto victory " — and 
this, from a sense, that there could be no safety here, nor 
happiness hereafter, unless the heart was purged from its 
defilements, and its affections set on heavenly things. 

Though this ministry of condemnation was hard to bear, 
yet strength was given to endure it, by a Divine power; 
and precious hopes were raised in the heart ; and at inter- 
vals, a sense of spiritual comfort and forgiveness of past 
sins, through faith in Christ. Though the vicissitudes of 
conflict and of ease, varied much in different individuals, 
according to their different circumstances, and the ser- 
vices in the Church and the world for which they were 
designed ; yet, all were thereby led into a state of inward 
watchfulness to the guidance of the Light of Christ, and 
a settlement therein, as the only state of safety attainable 
in this life ; and found, even after many years of estab- 
lishment in religion, and active service in the Church, the 
necessity of patiently and humbly enduring such exercises 
and conflicts of spirit as it pleased their Heavenly Father 
to administer, either as preparations for His work among 
men, or for their own preservation in humility and in- 
tegrity. 

The faith in God and in His Grace, which necessarily 



CONCLUDING KEMARKS. 159 

accompanied the change of heart which was thus carried 
forward in them ; led to a reverent regard for the Holy- 
Scriptures, whose precious promises and precepts were 
often applied to their hearts in the way of warning, in- 
struction, and comfort; and they were thus confirmed in 
their belief in them and their love for them. They were 
taught also to accept our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 
in all His offices, and to place their dependence, not on 
their own merits and works, but on the mercy of God, as 
manifested in the atoning sacrifice of the Redeemer for 
their sins, and in the effectual working of His Spirit and 
power in their hearts to redeem them from the dominion 
of sin, and to translate them into His holy and heavenly 
kingdom. 

George Whitehead says : — " True and living faith in 
Christ Jesus the Son of the Living God, has respect to 
His entire being and fulness; to Him entirely, as in him- 
self, and as all power in heaven and earth is given unto 
Him ; and also an eye and respect to the same Son of 
God, as inwardly making himself known in the soul in 
every degree of His Light, Life, Spirit, Grace, and Truth. 
. . . And when the least degree or measure of this Light 
and Life of Christ within, is sincerely waited for, followed 
and obeyed, there is a blessed increase of light and grace 
known and felt : as the path of the ju^t it shines more 
and more until the perfect day ; and thereby a growing 
in grace, and in the knowledge of God, and of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, hath been and is truly experi- 
enced. And this Light, Life or Spirit of Christ within, 
for they are one Divine Principle, is sufficient to lead into 
all truth. ... It does not only, as in its first ministra- 
tion, manifest sin, and reprove and condemn for sin, but 
also excites and leads them that believe in it to true re- 
pentance, and thereupon to receive that mercy, pardon, 
and redemption in Christ Jesus, which He has obtained 



160 CONCLUDING EEMAEES, 

for mankind, on those Gospel terms of faith in His Name, 
true repentance and conversion to Christ, thereby re- 
quired." . . . 

" Though we had the Holy Scriptures of the Old and 
New Testament, and a belief of Christ crucified and risen, 
etc., we never truly knew the mystery thereof, until we 
were turned to the Light of His Grace and Spirit within 
us ; we knew not what it was to be reconciled by His 
death, and saved by His life, or what it was to know the 
fellowship of His sufferings, the power of His resurrec- 
tion, or to be made conformable unto His death — we 
knew not, until He opened our eyes, and turned our 
minds from darkness unto His own Divine Light and 
Life within us." 

The Society of Friends has ever accepted, fully and 
reverently, the doctrine of the Atonement and Mediation 
of our Blessed Redeemer ; that He was offered on the 
cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and that our 
salvation is only through Him. But they have held 
with equal firmness the great complemental truth, that 
the saving effects of this wonderful manifestation of the 
goodness of God, can be experienced by those only who 
submit to the government of the same Saviour, as He 
appears in their hearts, by His Holy Spirit, or Divine 
Light. This accords with the language of the apostle : 
" Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith, prove 
your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that 
Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." Hence 
it is clear, that no one can have a true and saving faith 
in Christ Jesus, who rejects His grace or Spirit as it ap- 
pears in his heart. 

THE END. 



